A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction
by VeryEagerPerson
Summary: The outrage only grew inside him as the Emperor gave a hardy laugh. "King Hopps, I have no intention of marrying your daughter," The Fox reassured, wiping a tear from his eye. "Bedding down with a rabbit does not stir my interest. That honor will lie with Nicholas Wilde!" [M for violence, drug and alcohol use, language, and suggestive themes] [Medieval/Renaissance World AU]
1. Prologue

**Well, this is my second fanfic for Zootopia (Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction being the first), and all I can say is that I love it. I love this fandom. I love the stories, the people, the fanart. God damn, I love it all!**

 **Hope you enjoy the prologue to A Fox in Shining Armor!**

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King Hopps stood in front of a massive golden-trimmed mirror, gazing over himself with a weary gaze. His regal red and gold doublet hung heavy from his fat frame. His thick golden crown sat proudly atop his head for what would be the last time. His hazel eyes looked deep into themselves, finding no comfort in the thought of meeting his maker. Yet that decision would not be his to decide.

A gentle paw rested on his shoulder, and his gaze turned from the mirror. A youthful, beautiful smile painted onto an equally brilliant face made him grin.

"Judith," He lightly greeted, turning towards the figure. "Why has my beautiful daughter joined me in my bedroom?"

Her smile only grew at his question and her paw cupped the side of his face in a show of compassion.

"I need no reason to see you on this day of all days, father."

Both rabbits gazed into each other's eyes. For just a moment, their love for one another overpowered the dark days which were to come.

"Your mother would be so proud of you," He said with comfort, his grin becoming melancholy. All she did was nod back.

"I know, father."

Without prior warning a startling smashing sound echoed across the wide room as the wooden door at its head collided with the stone brick wall. Judith's paw retracted from his face as they both turned to look at the sudden commotion. Two young prince-like rabbits stormed through the doorway, their own uniquely colored regal doublets illuminated by the early sunrise light pouring in through the small window carved into the wall across from them.

"My sons," King Hopps joyfully addressed, his eyes flicking between the two newcomers. "It is good to see you one last time."

"Father," One rabbit bearing a blue cross on his white sleeve quickly said as he stepped away from the doorway, his paw placed eagerly against his sword sheath, notably lacking its sword. "We do not have much time. The Emperor has allowed us a final meeting with you, so we must plan your retreat before his guards take you away."

The other son, this time bearing a black sun over the red cloth on his chest, stepped forth to stand with his brother.

"We have come to rescue you, father," He hurriedly announced, raising out a clenched fist as dedication poured into his expression. "We will hold off the others while you escape through the catacombs."

King Hopps shook his head, much to the dismay of the two rabbits.

"Father, flee to the Northern Burrow!" The one in white begged, taking another step towards him. "There are many untapped sources of mammalpower there, and if we are to win the war-"

"We will not win the war, Prince Lucas, because it is already lost," He sternly interrupted. His sons shut their mouths and stared at him, dumbfounded.

"It was lost long before we took the field at Mamchester," He dolefully admitted.

Silently, he gave one last loving look at Judith before he strode to stand in front of the two speechless rabbits.

"Look at the fine young mammals you two have become," He warmly commented, one paw on each of their shoulders and a proud beam on his face. "I am proud you bear the Hopps name, and I am proud to call you my sons."

Shock, sadness, and fury radiated out of both of their sets of eyes. King Hopps's smile only grew at the sight.

 _They are stubborn, even for rabbits._ He jovially thought. _One day that may be to their own benefit, if they can contain such passion._

The piercing cling of metal hitting stone drew the attention of all the rabbits to the open doorway for a second time. A single red fox stood there, the fire from the torch he carried eerily reflecting off his chainmail hauberk. His flat, green eyes bore into Kings Hopps's.

"Time," The red fox awkwardly exclaimed, his voice more like a rasp, and King Hopps nodded in understanding.

"Just a moment," He politely responded to the soldier who most likely knew very little of the universal tongue. The fox nodded back and turned, the light from the torch fading into the darkness as he descended down the windy stairs.

King Hopps sighed and pushed through his sons, following his warden. He cast one final glance back as he stood in the doorway. The Princess stood between the two Princes with a smile, her eyes full of tears and her ears limply hanging against the back of her lapis blue dress. Her paws clasped one another in an attempt to comfort herself. Both his sons continued to stand defiantly, their clenched paws and jaws accompanied by infuriated glares.

"Prince Gregory, Prince Lucas, do not become vengeful at my passing. Enough pain has been kept in the hearts of our subjects," He commanded, a content smile coming onto his face. "Promise me that you two will be kind and compassionate, and will father kits of the same nature. And promise me that you will not abandon your sister."

His gaze flicked to the Princess.

"As for you, Judith, never lose your optimism or your free spirit - regardless of how many ears you ruffle."

The emotions his children bore did not change at his words - they only strengthened. With a deep, calming breath he began his descent down the stairs. Every part of his life was now complete. Was he content with its outcome?

Not in the slightest. He had lost the war his forefathers fought generations upon generations past. He had failed his sons and the soldiers who perished defending their country. He had doomed his kingdom to oppression and violence by a force greater than himself. No, he was not pleased at all with the condition he would leave the world in. But he was a king, and a chivalrous one at that, so he would march to the ax of his enemies with vigor.

Guards wearing the same armor as his warden surrounded him at the final step, guiding him down the hallways he knew all too well. Only some few weeks ago these would have been his halls, with his valuables hanging from his walls, all within his palace. But now they were no longer his halls - they were the hallways of the Emperor.

As he continued to turn and twist through the incredibly familiar courtyards and passages the frozen seed of solemn peace held within him finally sprouted. Eventually the variety of colored foxes around him held their place behind as a huge, open doorway loomed before him. Inside was his reckoning...

He didn't have to be spurred on by his captors; he willingly entered the throne room, his eyes focused on the figure sitting atop the gilded chair many meters in front of him.

King Hopps kept his ears upright to take in every sound, yet only the sweet embrace of silence hung in the air. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw noble foxes of all kinds sitting on benches against the room's walls, their backs pressed against brilliant tapestries which had existed for millennia. His feet became motionless as he arrived at his final destination; a bright red spot of stone on the ground, made that way because of the early morning sunshine pouring in through an elaborate stained glass window above the throne, mere feet above the fox sitting where he once did.

For several seconds King Hopps studied his conqueror while his conqueror studied him back. Unlike rabbits, foxes were always dressed in some branch of military attire. This was not true solely for nobles, whose armor he could see glinting in the corners of his vision, for the Emperor himself powerfully sat in the stone throne with his signature plate armor, his simple band-style polished iron crown, and his huge, menacing metal spear with the blade of a sword at its hilt - the very weapon which in minutes would take his life.

And how did the Emperor and his entourage perceive him? Probably as a lowly rabbit, a disgraced king whose only salvation would be in the afterlife. Not even the smallest hope of survival stirred under his thin grey fur. He had shown no mercy to any fox during the war, and he expected none in return.

A young grey fox wearing a leather tunic slowly walked from the group of well-dressed bureaucrats standing to the throne's side, who made up the Emperor's court, and stood in front of King Hopps chin held high. After several moments, the announcer spoke.

"Do you, Steward Hopps, King of the three burrows, surrender all the forces and lands under your crown to Emperor Canus Caesar of the Empire?" He arrogantly asked.

King Hopps gave a gentle nod.

"I do," He politely replied.

"And do you, Steward Hopps, King of the three burrows, declare defeat in the conflict which has plagued our great society for the past four hundred and thirty three years?"

"I do," He replied again, his unprovoked and neutral voice visibly getting under the fox's fur.

"And do you, Steward Hopps, King of the three burrows, relinquish your crown and title to Emperor Canus Caesar of the Empire?"

The announcer held his paw out expectantly.

"I do."

Slowly, his paws lifted his crown up and over his ears and handed it to the announcer. With it went his title. He was now only Steward Hopps, a prisoner of war, about to be executed by his captor who was none other than Canus Caesar.

The announcer spun on his toes and walked to the throne. He threw the crown at the feet of the Emperor, yet the iron-clad fox ignored the ringing the piece of jewelry made as it spun in circles. His eyes continued to bore into Steward's. The announcer spoke one last time, still facing the Emperor.

"And do you, Steward Hopps, have any last requests?"

Steward stood there for a moment, keeping his gaze locked with the Emperor's and allowing a deathly quiet silence to take control of the room.

"I wish for the destruction of the burrows and the killing of the mammals who call them home to be stopped," He stoically began. "I wish for both my sons and my daughter to be safe in this chaotic time. I wish for a proper burial for all those who have fallen on the fields battle. But above all, I wish for peace between our two realms."

The announcer walked back to the foxes at the throne's side, the stare between the Emperor and Steward not yet broken. He had told the absolute truth to the gigantic fox. Those were his truest wishes, but he hadn't a hope that the regal fox would accept them.

The Emperor stood slowly, his frighteningly huge spear rising with him. His paw snatched up the crown at his feet and a frown became carved into his previously neutral expression. Steward had prepared himself for what would come next over the past several days of his captivity - the swift strike of a blade through his chest.

Yet no blow came from Emperor Canus. At least, no physical blow - sometimes words have a much more dangerous effect than actions.

"Granted."

Steward could feel his heart stop and his eyes grow huge at that single word. All around the room shouts of protest rang out, some in the common tongue while others in the language of foxes. Nobles stood and began to point and make empty threats toward their leader, some revealing their predatory teeth through snarls. Though this time it would be their voices who would fall on the deaf ears of the Emperor. Steward paid no mind to them as well - he was completely distraught at his conqueror's words. Or, more correctly, word.

Emperor Canus raised and slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, the sharp sound ending the treasonous shouts and signaling for privacy. His servants and advisers departed first, streaming around Steward, and were soon followed by the guards stationed around the room and the unsettled nobles, who still cast murderous glares at their Emperor and spoke in violent whispers as the doors to the hall slammed shut.

Steward's mouth moved yet no sound came out of it. He was supposed to die on this day - his kingdom was supposed to be put to the torch, reduced to nothing but ashes. Why had his conqueror showed mercy to a species which deserved none?

"Why do you spare us, Canus?" He asked shakily. "Why do you show mercy to a kingdom who showed none to yours?"

The Emperor smiled and walked to stand directly in front of him, his gaze focused on the ground as he used his spear as a cane. Despite his physical prowess, he appeared weary alone before him and his eyes were filled with loss as they moved up to look at him.

"I spare your land, Hopps, because I wish to stop the shattering of our world," He answered, throwing his spear against the wall without turning away from the rabbit. "For my entire life I have witnessed death, famine, and disease plague not just my mammals, but all mammals of this world. War weakens all. If we do not abandon the resentment we have had for each other for so long then our children and our children's children will be cursed to walk the same bloodied path we have."

Emperor Canus's gaze became soft and filled with pain.

"Tell me, Hopps, how many sons did you lose in the war?"

A smile filled with sad memories emerged onto Steward's face.

"Too many, Canus."

The Emperor grinned, reflecting the same miserable feelings he felt.

"I can say no number more appropriate."

Both his velvet paws raised, clutching the golden crown.

"So join me, Hopps! The wars waged in the south and east are fueled by hate and fire, but if we could set an example for them so that they may turn to us and say, 'Look at those two rivals, of whom are now the best of friends!' then maybe we can begin the ebbing of hate between predator and prey. So I ask you, as one monarch to another, will you join me, _King_ Hopps."

Steward's smile grew. He could see the strongest form of passion raging underneath the armor and orange fur of his counterpart, and hope began to move underneath his own. The Emperor had spared his family and his lands from destruction, had treated him with the utmost respect, and now offered him his crown and kingdom in return for peace. As quickly as his paw could move he took the crown the Emperor offered him and returned it to the rightful place atop his head.

"I shall join you, Emperor Canus," He proudly told him. "Together we can end the suffering our mammals have experienced and hope to change the world for the better."

Emperor Canus smiled and placed his paw on King Hopps' shoulder.

"Let us not let our sons have died for nothing," He resolutely said.

"I completely agree," He responded.

After several long moments of a shared smile, Emperor Canus slowly turned and began to walk along the perimeter of the room, his eyes studying the tapestries as he went past them. King Hopps followed beside him, studying his face.

"Tell me of your mammals, King Hopps. What do they expect from our kind?" The Emperor eventually inquired.

"No mercy, in simple terms," He answered, his tone half-humorous. "They believe you are the rapture, here to destroy their livelihood as long as the infinite fire within you continues to burn."

"So how will they react to an alliance between our two kingdoms?"

"Many of the lower classes will be open to the idea, along with the merchants and guilds. They have little and lost much during the war - if you show them kindness then they will be as loyal to you as your own subjects."

"That is good to hear, King Hopps. What of your nobility? And your armies? Are they open to such a change?"

"The lords will take convincing, but they are loyal to their King and his judgement. And as for armies, we have none left, Emperor Canus."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow as he reached the halfway mark of his personal tour of the tapestries.

"That is not a good projection of strength, King Hopps. You may have open rebellion if your armies are nonexistent in the keeps and towns of disloyal lords."

Emperor Canus slowed his pace, his eyes still taking in every image sewn onto the hanging cloths as they passed by.

"Grand Marshal Paratus will remain here with eighteen thousand of my most loyal soldiers. For now, and as long as your armies are void, they will be your mammals to move and garrison as you command."

King Hopps nodded, staring at his new ally.

"That is very kind of you, Emperor Canus. Thank you."

"There is no need for thanks, King Hopps. Consider it a gift from a newfound friend."

Emperor Canus smiled as his walk ended and he and King Hopps ended up where they began, at the steps leading up to the throne. The ironclad fox collapsed back into the throne with a heavy sigh.

"I have fears for our mammals yet, King Hopps," He pondered. "As long as we both live, the alliance between us will continue, yet you approach your sixties while I have nearly finished mine. If you pass, your sons may terminate our friendship. I have seen how they speak of foxes. Yet If I pass, the best all residing in our realms could hope for would be a war which lasts only half as long as ours did."

Emperor Canus' armored paw came up to his face and massaged his eyelids, and when it came down his emeralds were filled with a thousand emotions ranging from worry to strength.

"The electors shall elect one who wishes for the destruction of the burrows. You have seen how opposed the nobility are to mercy - they want revenge for your campaigns in Smittenburg and Foxfort. They wish for the blood of rabbits to run through all streams and rivers, turning the grass red as it washes into the sea."

The Emperor leaned forward, a sly smile upon his muzzle.

"But there is a way we can prevent this destruction. One part will be mine to complete, and the other will be your children's."

"Tell me, Emperor Canus, what do you intend to do?" King Hopps pushed, intrigued.

"To unite the empire, King Hopps," The Emperor explained. "Long has the power of the electors been waning. Their armies no longer look to them as the rulers of their lives but to me in their stead. Many dream of a united empire, free from city states and regional powers allied only for their shared hate of a common foe. They wish for a single ruler, free from the petty squabbles of local nobles and so-called lords. And they shall soon have it - the war has let me consolidate power across the lands of the Empire, and I intended to use that power to establish an imperial dynasty."

"So what is my children's role in securing peace?" King Hopps curiously asked.

"When the dynasty is established, we shall be a King and an Emperor in an alliance," Emperor Canus continued, raising an eyebrow along with his paw. "What better way to set an example for the world than to become two once warring kingdoms bound in a personal union?"

King Hopps felt his eyes grow tenfold at the proposition. A personal union? Had anything along those lines ever been done between two different species? It would certainly be progressive. Yet that was not the largest problem, for if the Emperor was openly speaking of uniting their dynasties together, then that would require marriage between...

"Emperor Canus, while I am in support of an alliance between our two kingdoms, I am uncomfortable with the thought of a royal marriage between our bloodlines," He sternly asserted. "My daughter could not be convinced to marry a mammal nearly three times her age. Even if she could I will stand between any relationship you two would have or would hope to share."

Emperor Canus only stared at the unwavering discontent on his face and ears bent back in hostility for several moments before he let out a string of hardy laughs, his eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back. The outrage continued to grow on King Hopps' face until an angry scowl formed. Eventually Emperor Canus stopped, his paw wiping an amused tear from his eye.

"King Hopps, you have no reason to worry!" He reassured with a huge grin. "I do not intend to marry Princess Hopps! My life is nearly spent - marrying your daughter would only be a vain attempt at uniting our kingdoms before my death."

"You wish to instill your dynasty onto the throne of the empire and unite our households, yet you have no blood remaining. You are the last of your bloodline! Who would you have marry my daughter?" King Hopps demanded, very little of the outrage in his voice diminished. He would not let his daughter be married off to some peasant fox!

Emperor Canus only leaned even further out of the throne.

"It is true that I am the last of the true Caesars, King Hopps," He began, his eyes becoming clouded with memory. "Both of my sons perished at Wien. My brother Vulpis fell at Ostach, and his son, Tacitus, at Main. My Queen died of the Black Plague brought on by the war."

"I am sorry to hear that," King Hopps solemnly apologized, his ears now hanging behind his head in sorrow. Yet as soon as it had come the memory faded from Emperor Canus's eyes.

"Spare me your pity, King Hopps," He politely ordered. "We all have lost loved ones in the war. Now it is time to rebuild and unite. Luckily for Princess Hopps there is still one fox who carries my blood within him."

King Hopps' eyes lit up. The Emperor was right. The best hope for peace would be a royal marriage, if that was a possibility. And he was surely making it sound like it was.

"Who is this mammal you speak of, Emperor Canus?" He inquired, marginally tilting his head. The Emperor took a moment to plan out his words as best he could.

"My brother Vulpis had a single son, Tacitus," He recounted. "Tacitus was not as wealthy or powerful as his father, so to you and your spies he would've been obscure. Tacitus fathered a single son, Piberius, until he himself was killed in battle. By that time all others who shared my blood were deceased, so I took Piberius in as my own. Since then he has become one of the most chivalrous and respectable mammals in the Empire. He has served in many noble courts, fought alongside me in countless battles, and trained hundreds of my personal guards. Books are his passion, among many others, and he can charm any young female he wishes. A great many vixens in the towns and keeps of foxkind have fallen head over heels for him - yet he still manages to father no bastards. Above all he is a respectful, steady and romantic fox - a perfect match for your daughter."

King Hopps nodded slowly. This Piberius sounded like a good enough sort. The Emperor wasn't lying when he said he and Judith would form a perfect marriage - his daughter was quite reserved despite her adventurous attitude. Maybe all she needed was an outside push to spark something great. After he and Emperor Canus joined their wives in eternal peace he could see the two having the power to continue the fragile peace which now stood. But the thought of giving up his only daughter was a thought which unsettled him. Piberius had to be perfect, not good enough, for her, and any military career in the war so recently ended was a worry.

"He sounds like a nice enough mammal, Emperor Canus, but can you elaborate on his time with the sword?" He politely requested, his nose beginning to twitch. "I do not wish for my daughter to be married to a butcher."

The Emperor nodded, visibly unworried by his request.

"Of course, King Hopps, but I can assure you that your daughter will marry someone far from being a war criminal. Marshal Piberius has accompanied me on many campaigns for the past decade, and throughout all of them I have never seen him take a life. Some of the more critical electors have called him nicknames such as 'Wilde the Coward' and 'Wilde the Weak-Handed', yet I think it is very noble of him to never end something most take for granted nowadays."

At the mention of the name 'Wilde' the interest and excitement in King Hopps's eyes grew ten times over.

"You mean to tell me you wish to marry my daughter to Nicholas Wilde?" He exclaimed, the remaining suspicion in his voice now gone and replaced with surprise and awe. Emperor Canus's head tilted his head at this, this time his eyes the ones filled with interest.

"So you know of Piberius?" He asked, but King Hopps shook his head.

"No, we know of Wilde the Merciful, a hero to our mammals," He answered. "He refused to end the lives of Lord Mathis, Lord Henry, and Lord Younce at Cornhill. He released almost four thousand prisoners after the Battle of Rosecheeks. He allowed the citizens of Berby to leave the city when he besieged it! My daughter could only dream of marrying such a chivalrous mammal in her most spectacular romance novels!"

Emperor Canus sent his counterpart a large grin at his outburst.

"Luckily she will have the chance of living one of her novels, then," He commented, grinning. "I see you already know of Piberius's alias. He has used the name from his mother's side since he came into my service. Only a scattered few know the name his father bestowed upon him."

King Hopps' shock slowly began to ebb, and he soon found himself with his paw outstretched and an animated smile.

"It is decided, then," He enthusiastically concluded.

"It is decided," Emperor Canus confirmed with an even more radiant beam, standing up from the throne and walking to grip his outstretched forearm with his own paw. "Judith Hopps shall marry Nicholas Wilde."

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 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Rewritten 6/22/17**


	2. Chapter One

**Lots of support for the prologue! I hope this story will be as succesful as my other one,** _Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction!_ **If you haven't checked out that one yet, I suggest you do at the earliest possible convenience!**

 **Thanks for all the positive feedback for the prologue! There's been a few (minor) changes since the first uploading of it, so feel free to go back and re-read.**

 **Let's go! Hope you enjoy Chapter One of A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction.**

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The eerily still feel that hung over the room made Judy uneasy. The library was supposed to be a quiet place nearly all days of the year, but today was not one of those monotonous days. Her purple gaze eagerly flicked between her two brothers, as if she was waiting for one of them to speak, while her paws latched onto one another as they lay in her lap. Prince Lucas, her older brother, was slowly paging through a book he had taken from one of the many bookshelves which lined the walls of the room. Meanwhile her eldest brother, Prince Gregory, was staring out one of the three massive, arched windows which overlooked the palace's gardens with his arms crossed across his embroidered tunic and one of his feet slowly tapping against the wooden floor.

All three of them were in dire need to know what became of their father and what would become of them. Only yesterday she had given her father a final goodbye before he was taken to what her brothers told her was his execution. However, according to some of the foxes scattered around the palace that she had overheard talking, her father hadn't been executed by the Emperor but instead had formed an _alliance_ with him.

She could hardly believe that, and both of her brothers instantaneously brushed it off a serious possibility. For centuries rabbits and foxes had been at each other's throats. Thousands of lives had been lost on both sides, including many of her ancestors and eleven of her now-deceased siblings. There couldn't be a hope of peace until one of their species was permanently wiped out. And right now, it appeared that species would be rabbits. Deep down she wished this fanciful alliance, or something of the sort, would occur so that the tumultuous years of violence would end. But she had heard stories about a fox's slyness and trickery, so she reluctantly brushed off what she had heard the vulpine guards say as rumors. Besides that, there hadn't been any news about her father or the world outside the palace's walls. All this had left her in her current position, sitting in silence and thinking about her father, herself, and the secret hope for peace that was lodged in her mind.

Suddenly Judy's eyes darted up from the wooden floorboards as the silence of the room was shattered.

"I cannot take it!" Prince Gregory growled, turning away from the window with a stern frown which flicked between Judy's surprised expression and Prince Lucas's curious gaze.

"I need to know what has happened to our father!" He continued, slowly pacing towards his siblings. "I have many fears about what has happened to him, and many more about what will happen to us! Those dirty foxes, they play mind games with us. They tell us our father is alive and escort us down to the palace's library on " _his_ " orders. What's their game?"

"Calm down, Gregory," Prince Lucas harshly ordered, putting his book on the side table beside Judy and hurrying to stand in front of his brother. "We all want to know what has happened to father. But I believe we already know what has happened to him, just none of us want to admit it."

Prince Gregory growled as his eyes met his brother's.

"He has been executed," He snarled. "Just like we'll be!"

Judy felt anger building up inside of her, but she was able to quickly suppress it and keep it at a level which only made her annoyed. She was frustrated at the notion that both her brothers would give up hope so easily and write their father off as being dead without any proof. Without thinking, she pushed herself up and out of her chair with such speed that both of her brothers' heads turned toward her curiously.

"We can always hope that it doesn't come to that!" She exclaimed. "I don't trust the foxes to be honest with us, but I do trust them to be merciful toward us. We _must_ hold the hope that the Emperor has spared our father's life and will spare ours as well! Peace may yet come!"

At her words, both of her brother's gazes turned into critical glares and Prince Gregory clenched his fists.

"Until the end of time, the monstrous deeds of the House of Caesar will stand condemned," He harshly stated.

"You speak with ignorance, sister!" Prince Lucas sneered in support of his small-minded brother. The annoyance Judy had felt before disappeared and was replaced with outrage as she drew a paw up to rest on her chest while her ears limply fell behind her head. She and her brothers argued often, but now that their father wasn't here to monitor the discussion she could feel the situation quickly becoming volatile.

 _"I_ am the one who speaks with ignorance?" She sharply questioned, pointing at herself. "If you are to call hope ignorance, then I am the most ignorant rabbit in all of the Burrows! It is not I who am ignorant, but you two! While our conquerors may be foxes they are also mammals! They have feelings, they have culture, they have _families_ , just like we do! So hal-"

Before she could finish her command, Prince Gregory interrupted her with a scowling growl and angrily stomped up to her. He was a good three inches taller than her, yet she wasn't intimidated by his height and returned his fiery stare with a staunchly defiant one of her own.

"Your words worry me, sister," He quietly informed, his voice filled with violence. "You speak as if the foxes are our friends or our wives and husbands. I have seen their lands, and I can tell you that they have no culture. They have no feelings. Eons ago, when all mammals of this Earth were savage, foxes hunted rabbits, and that instinct survives inside them to this day. It only takes little to see that. That's what the life of a fox revolves around; killing. So do not expect mercy or kindness from any of them, for they cannot give any."

"That is a lie, Gregory, and you know it," A familiar voice called from across the room. Judy spun her head around as quick as physically possible, and she caught her brother doing the same out of the corner of her vision. At the sight of the mammal standing in the doorway she felt all the anger flee from her body.

"Father..." Prince Lucas exclaimed in shock as he walked up to stand between her and Prince Gregory. King Hopps just gave a toothy smile as he strolled away from the doorway.

"Yes," The red-clad rabbit simply stated. "I am your father. But more importantly, I am still your king."

Without thinking, Judy bolted across the room and threw her arms around the shoulder-pads of his regal doublet. Hope hadn't been ignorant in the end; her father was still alive, which meant that so was a chance at peace.

"Father..." She joyfully whispered, her eyes clenched shut and her chin lovingly resting on his shoulder. "It is very pleasing to see you again."

"Ah!" He lovingly exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her. "You haven't lost any of you passion, have you, Judith?"

She didn't bother verbally responding, but instead squeezed him tighter to answer his rhetorical question.

"Father," Prince Gregory started, a shocked look on his face while both he and Prince Lucas wander to stand behind their embrace. "How are you still alive?"

King Hopps slowly broke his embrace with her, his paw gently tapping on her shoulder in an unspoken command to separate. She reluctantly obliged, her mind still filled with joy as she clasped her hands in front of her and politely moved to stand at his side.

"I am still alive, Prince Gregory, because our new allies have decided to spare me, my family, and my kingdom," He answered. At his words both Prince Gregory's and Prince Lucas' eyes lit up and Judy perked her ears a little higher.

"What allies?" Prince Lucas eagerly asked. "The Mus? Flecians? Horsesets?" **[1]**

A realization washed over Judy, and she shook her head with wide eyes.

"Not any of those," She answered in the place of her father, the memory of what the foxes had told her earlier replaying in her mind. "Our new ally is-"

"The Empire!" An aged voice boldly interrupted from the doorway. For the second time that day all the eyes in the library flew toward the entrance, and at the sight of the mammal standing there Judy felt her heart drop to her feet.

There he was. The arch enemy of the burrows. She had never seen a fox this close before, save for the crude images of them drawn in her novels, and from first sight they seemed absolutely terrifying. The Emperor had a tight, almost forced grin on his face which revealed his predatory teeth. His eyes were large, deep pools of green taken from the darkest forests known to all of mammalkind. The strangeness of his face alone would've made her avoid him altogether, but when it was coupled with the huge weapon he held and the canine skulls intricately carved into his metallic chest-piece she would've actively run away from him had she not been accompanied by her father.

"Emperor Canus!" King Hopps greeted as the old fox strolled away from the doors while his guards took point beside the entrance. "I didn't expect you to join us so quickly!"

The Emperor gave a quick shrug as he came to stand beside the king. All Judy could do was marvel at - or by frightened by - his size and physical stature. She couldn't decide which path to take. All she knew was that he certainly looked like an Emperor, and a very impressive one at that.

"Writing the letter took less time than expected," The Emperor explained, shrugging, his eyes still trained on her father. Judy continued to stare at the strange mammal, taking in every aspect of his face. His snout was long, filled with razor-sharp teeth and tipped with a dark purple nose. His face was slim and well-kept, and his eyes were...

Judy suddenly stopped studying him as she stared at a pair of green eyes which were staring right back at her.

"Is this her?" Emperor Canus asked with a large grin as he moved to tower in front of her. Out of the corner of her frightened gaze she caught sight of her father sending a quick nod and raising out an introductory paw towards her.

"This is the mammal we spoke of, Emperor Canus," He authoritatively answered, his tone not easing her worry. "I present to you, my daughter, Judith Laverne Hopps."

Judy could feel her heart speeding up as the Emperor gently raised her limp paw up from her side. All she could think about was his teeth. Rabbits didn't have the sharp fangs like foxes had; in olden days they would eat grasses and shrubs, but foxes would tear flesh limb from limb like a savage animal. She kept her senses alert as her paw came closer and closer to his graying muzzle.

 _He's going to bite it off!_ Her fearful mind screamed at her, but she was too stunned to move or do anything about it. All she could do was watch in horror as, in one swift motion, the Emperor closed his smile and gently shut his eyes, brought her paw up to his teeth...

And pecked it as delicately as a mother kissing a newborn kit.

Judy was so dismayed by the show of compassion that her own arm stayed straightened in the air for several moments after the Emperor let go of her paw and her straightened ears only faintly heard what he mumbled next as a smile returned to his face.

"Welcome to the dynasty."

Judy frowned, half in fright and half in confusion. She turned to her father, but all he did was send her a neutral expression which didn't aid the situation at all.

"What does he mean, father?" She lightly asked, but a feeling of dread spoke inside herself and her eyes grew to the size's of apples at it's answer.

"Am I to be... _married_ to him?" She disbelievingly whispered underneath her breath. She could feel her bodily processes halting at such an idea.

"Yes, father!" Prince Lucas shouted in outrage, his fists clenched by his sides and oblivious to what she had mumbled. "What does he mean? And what have you _done_?"

King Hopps turned to the white-clad prince with a cool and unintimidated expression.

"I've secured us peace," Was all he said.

" _Peace?_ " Prince Gregory spat out like a sour taste, taking a threatening step towards him. " _This_ is the ally you spoke of? A _Fox_? And you would have _this fox_ marry our sister?"

In one quick stride away from Judy, Emperor Canus was towering over Prince Gregory, lightly pressing the blade of his weapon against the skin and fur of his neck. Judy stared onward, still shocked and speechless at the fact that she would marry the temperamental predator now dangerously close to ending another one of her brother's lives.

"I remember you saying that your sons would be loyal, King Hopps," Emperor Canus quietly recounted as he stared down at Prince Gregory with a cold and unforgiving stare, the complete opposite of the warm and welcoming gaze he had shown her. All the rabbit could do was stare back in horror, his body paralyzed with fear.

"I can assure you that they are," King Hopps replied, untroubled by the fact that the Emperor was threatening his son's life. "Although I must apologize for them speaking out of turn."

"Make sure that they don't do it again," Emperor Canus commanded, turning to look at Prince Lucas's terrified face as he stared at the blade pressed against his brother's neck. The Emperor sent him a toothy smile, seemingly amused by the fright the two of them were radiating.

"You know what I do to the disloyal," He added, running his long tongue over his ivory white teeth.

"Canus!" King Hopps yelled, his voice annoyed yet lacking anger. "That is quite enough. I think they have both learned their lesson."

The Emperor lowered his weapon from Prince Gregory's neck, keeping his eyes locked with Prince Gregory's still shocked expression.

"No," He sullenly commented as he turned away from the rabbit and returned to King Hopps's side. "No, I don't think they have. Make sure you have a word with them about their _unsavory_ behavior after our meeting is done. For now, I will not tolerate their presence any longer."

"If that is what you wish," King Hopps politely said, turning his gaze to his sons and flicking his head toward the open doors.

"Leave us," He flatly ordered. It took a moment for his command to resonate with both the Princes, but when it finally did Lucas quickly hurried past him while Gregory took a slower pace, his shocked expression turning into an angry glare as his eyes bore into the back of the King's skull. Once both of them had exited the library and the vulpine guards had shut the doors to the hallway behind them, Emperor Canus's cold expression disappeared and he turned back to Judy with a delighted look in his eyes.

'Well, then," He started, sending her a happy smile which only panicked her already startled mind. "Let's get back to business."

Judy could feel the shock beginning to ebb from her body, and the realization of what was happening suddenly dawned inside of her. She was going to be married to the Emperor. To a _fox_! To a fox which had _killed_ rabbits! She didn't want to marry a mammal that had killed her own brothers! In a desperate attempt to prevent what she knew her father would make inevitable, she threw herself down at his feet and looked up at him from a kneeling position with huge, pleading eyes as she tightly gripped both of his paws with her own.

"Please, father!" She begged. "I love you, and will do what you ask of me, but please reconsider marrying me to the Emperor! I don- I don't want to marry a mammal for whom I feel no love!"

King Hopps stared down at her, his hazel eyes firmly locked with her pleading purple gaze, but he didn't make any movements or show any emotion to her. Yet she still held out hope. She held out hope that he wouldn't marry her off to some mammal she didn't even know from a species she hadn't truly seen until mere minutes ago. She didn't want to marry a fox with a reputation like the Emperor's. She didn't want to marry a fox three times her age! In fact, she didn't want to marry a fox, _period_. All she needed was a noble rabbit to be happy. She needed someone stable, who would love her free spirit until the end of time, who would accompany her on the adventures she had dreamed of taking ever since she was a kit, and who wouldn't viciously attack her like she had heard foxes did when they became too eager. No, she didn't want an arranged marriage with a fox at all! If she were to marry a mammal, then it would be on her own terms. But if she went against her father's will...

She swallowed down that thought. In the end, she didn't have a choice in who she would marry. Her happiness wasn't her father's motivation; politics was. If he wanted to marry her off to some regal fox to cement a newly-formed alliance, then who was she to deny him? He was the King, and she was the King's daughter. But to her surprise her father's eyes became filled with concern, and as carefully as he could he lifted her up from her kneeling position and gently placed both of his paws on her shoulders.

"Judith," He began, his voice filled with compassion. "I would never marry you off to a mammal you didn't love. I may be a king, but I am not heartless."

"So you will not wed me to the Emperor?" She asked, her eyes darting to the massive fox whose gaze was just as concerned as her father's. "Because if you wish for me to marry him, then I will do it for you."

"My dear," The Emperor thoughtfully began, meandering towards her. "I have no intention of marrying you. Love is required for a stable marriage, and I can already tell you don't love me. And you shouldn't; I don't love you. Not yet. Your love would be better suited elsewhere."

"And that is why we are talking to you, Judith," King Hopps finished. "Because Prince Gregory and Prince Lucas are too hard-headed to be kings after I have departed this world. If the fragile peace across the Burrows and the Empire is to continue, and eventually become stronger, then we need an opened minded Prince from the Empire to marry an equally opened minded Princess from the Burrows."

"And I am that Princess?" Judy asked, and King Hopps nodded in answer.

"So who would be my Prince?" She curiously asked as she turned back towwards the Emperor. "If I remember correctly, you have no sons, Emperor Canus."

"You are correct," The Emperor replied, his voice twinged with sadness. "That is what war has taken from me, and that is why the peace must hold. Luckily, my great nephew lives on, and with him he carries both the blood of the Caesars and another family; the Wildes."

At the mention of the name _Wilde_ , Judy's brain went into an imaginative rage and her eyes widened at the images which were appearing in her mind. There was only one mammal she knew of with that name.

"You wish for me to marry Nicholas Wilde? The Marshal? The soldier who has never taken a life?" She hurriedly stammered out, and her father nodded.

"I trust that he is a much better choice for a partner than Emperor Canus is," He joked, and Judy vigorously nodded in return.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, but she suddenly became embarrassed as she realized what she had indirectly said to the Emperor. She quickly turned toward the fox with an outstretched paw and an apologetic gaze.

"I mean you no disrespect, Emperor Canus," She quickly apologized, but the fox just smiled at her.

"None taken," He responded with a twinge of elation. "I assume you've heard good things about my great-nephew?"

"Many," She replied, her voice filled with admiration. "My father would deliver me books he collected over the course of his campaigns in the Empire, and many of them spoke of the chivalry and bravery of Marshal Wilde."

"Be careful about what books tell you. They are often written by those who have been paid to praise," Emperor Canus commented. "But what are your views of his personality? I know you have yet to meet him and are far from loving him, but I need an answer. Will you marry him, for the sake of peace?"

Judy turned her eyes to her father, but all he did was send her a loving smile. The decision was hers to make. She took a deep breath to plunge herself into thinking, but the answer to the life-changing question had already answered itself in her head.

"I will," She responded, letting a small smile appear on her face. "I will marry Nicholas Wilde."

* * *

The blows were coming from every possible direction. To an uneducated eye they probably seemed random, simply the stabbing and swinging of a rapier by a mammal intent on taking down her opponent. But Nick could see that there was something more to the strikes; each one was timed and placed so perfectly that he had to move his rapier from one side of his body to the other to stop the incoming weapon from inflicting any harm on him. A smile came onto his face as the barrage continued. His opponent was catching onto new techniques he had taught her exceptionally quickly.

"Very good," He commented as the fight came to a pause, the corsac fox in front of him taking a knee so she could catch her breath. "But put more power into your strikes. In battle you're not trying to gently tap your opponent, you're trying to wound them."

He raised his rapier in front of him, and the corsac fox looked up at the blade with eager eyes.

"Again," He commanded, and the small, grey fox straightened herself, letting her loose dress unravel itself, and raised her blade. Within a moment she was upon him again, raining down blow after blow as if he was the open sea and she a hurricane. Yet none of the strikes managed to get close to him; while they were stronger than before, they were also much more uncontrolled and sloppy.

"Remember!" He yelled as he moved his body to avoid her blows. "Don't let your form fade! Organization is just as important as power!"

He wasn't sure his opponent heard his words. She didn't improve her attacks like he had hoped; all she did was bring down her strikes a little harder, and her lively gaze turned fiery the longer their sparring went on for. Nick grimaced as she began to pant, which only seemed to further annoy her. She lunged toward his throat, but he darted to his side and swiped his rapier upwards, knocking her sword out of her outstretched paw. He nimbly caught the weapon with his free paw and in one quick move he swept up to the now bewildered corsac fox and pressed her into his chest plate as he crossed both swords behind her back, cutting off any chance of her retreating.

"My Lady," He suggestively teased as he stared down at her wide blue eyes. "Save passion for the bedroom, not the battlefield."

She smiled back up at him as the surprise and weariness fled from her eyes to be replaced by lust and playfulness.

"Some say they are one in the same," She lascivious commented, her light voice and young eyes a delight to his imagination.

"Then maybe we ought to test one another's skill on a _different_ field of combat," Nick suggested, licking his lips. She sent him back a hungry smile, and their stare remained unbroken as they slowly inched closer to one another and as his paws slowly lowered toward her tail. But before they could begin their next round of combat a loud cough echoed from the arched entrance of the courtyard they had spent the afternoon practicing in.

Nick looked up from his partner and lowered the weapons from behind her back. Leaning against the archway was a short, beige colored fox whose very presence signaled for privacy.

"Why don't you run on ahead," He told the corsac Fox, turning his easy gaze back down towards her. "I'll join you in your quarters in a few moments."

"Perfect!" She eagerly exclaimed, and Nick smirked when he caught a sudden burst of excited scents radiate off her like perfume. "That gives me time to prepare before our next round of _sparring_."

Nick chuckled delightfully and stared after her as she quickly made her way across the courtyard and passed behind the large-eared fox in its entrance. The short mammal stared after her, but once she turned the corner and the tip of her tail went out of view he turned back to Nick with a joking smile.

"Nicholas, I am worried for you," He lightheartedly began as he strolled away from the entrance, his heavy plate armor creaking underneath it's own weight. "More and more vixens come to your doorstep requesting to spend time with you, and you end up bedding down with all of them!"

"Well that is what one must do when he is far from home, Field Marshal Finn," Nick explained, striding toward the fountain at the center of the courtyard, away from the Field Marshal, as he sheathed his rapier. "The body of a vixen is the only familiar sight to me in this strange place."

"Hah!" Field Marshal Finn exclaimed as Nick lowered himself to sit on the edge of the rabbit-sized fountain. "We're only forty miles from the border with the Empire, my Marshal. If you really wish to return, it shouldn't take more than two day's run."

"You know I cannot abandon the soldiers, Finn," Nick explained, placing the extra rapier on the edge of the fountain next to him, both glinting in the sunlight. "They've already lost many of their colleagues at Mamchester - they have no need to lose their Marshal as well. And with the war over and the Emperor seizing power from the electors, they require some sort of stability in their life."

Nick exhaled loudly, letting the relaxing mid-afternoon sunlight warm his orange fur as he moved to lean back onto his palms, closing his eyes.

"I assume you have a message from Emperor Canus," He neutrally started. "What does the Emperor wish me to do with his regiments?"

"I'm not sure," The Field Marshal answered, and Nick perked his ears as the fennec fox handed him a folded sheet of paper. "His orders are written in the common tongue **[2]**."

"Ah, I forgot that you are not of noble birth, Finn," Nick lightheartedly taunted as he took the piece of paper from him, and Field Marshal Finn growled at him in response.

 _My dearest Nicholas._ The letter began. Nick cocked an eyebrow at the unusual use of courtesy. Normally his orders began with something along the lines of 'do this' or 'attempt that'.

 _I would like to congratulate you on your campaign in The Folds. I heard that you were able to seize Carrbridge without taking nor losing a life. A diplomatic annexation, Marshal Navus calls it. This only adds to your already flawless reputation._

Nick huffed at the Emperor's exaggeration of his stature. Maybe he was perfect in the eyes of some, but he had received angry glares from many nobles after he had 'acquainted' himself with their daughters. Not as if he had initiated said introductions...

 _I will not dally on the politics of the realm or the condition of the capital of the Burrows._ The letter continued. _But I will say this. Our_ _world is changing, Nicholas._ _The instability of war has taken a toll not just on us but on our former enemies as well. If we are to make it so that suffering will never again plague our mammals, then the destruction of the burrows must_ not _happen, and if we wish to have peace for our children and our children's children, then that is what we must make sure begins now. Peace. Peace through alliance._

"What does the letter say?" Field Marshal Finn respectfully asked as a surprised look made it's way onto Nick's face, but he didn't respond to the curious fox.

 _But an alliance only secures us peace for a short time, my son. That is why from this day onward you shall be known as Prince Nicholas Wilde. As the prince of the Empire you will not only be my stepson but will also one day have the opportunity to rule over both all foxes and rabbits in this world. This brings me to my final point. King Hopps and I agree that if peace is to continue beyond our reigns, then our kingdoms must be permanently bonded, and the only way we can do that is through a joining of our bloodlines._

Nick's eyes widened a little more at the Emperor's words, and he leaned forward so he could grip the page with both his paws. A 'joining of bloodlines' between two different species? Was that even possible? Could heirs even be _produced_ between a fox and a rabbit? Deep down he had a feeling that one day he'd discover the answer to that very question.

 _As your Emperor, I command you to make your way to the capital of the Burrows with as much haste as possible._ The letter finished. _And as your stepfather, I command you to marry King Hopps' daughter, Princess Judith Hopps._

Nick couldn't believe what he had just read. His stepfather was commanding him to _marry_ a rabbit? Simply outrageous! Why would he even consider...

Nick brought the paper up to as close to his face as possible and re-read the jet black ink as quickly as he could. That's why his father was commanding him to marry a rabbit. For _peace_. The thing he desired more than anything in this world. Yet the unknowns of such an engagement were as great as the Squienees or Malps. What would occur if he and this Princess's relationship turned for the worst? What if they could not learn to accept one another? Would war break out again, with all hopes of peace squandered?

 _This bickering is pointless._ A voice pointed out. _Worrying over futures you cannot control will get you nowhere except tragedy. Besides, you are Nicholas Wilde! The thief of hearts! The wooer of vixens! One rabbit cannot be any more different than those!_

"Marshal Wilde?" The Field Marshal asked again, his intrusive voice shaking him from his thoughts. "What does the Emperor command?"

Nick looked up at the fennec fox with a small smile and let the letter in his paws fall to the ground, but before it even grazed the sun-baked stone bricks a light breeze carried it to gently rest on the stagnant water at the bottom of the fountain.

"It is Prince Wilde," He corrected as he slowly raised, paws behind his back. "And the Emperor wants us to meet him at our new ally's capital. Spread the word to the captains; we begin the march to the Central Burrow in an hour."

"Yes, Prince Wilde," Field Marshal Finn quickly said as he picked up the urgency in Nick's voice. His eyes were filled with curiosity, but he didn't question his choice of words.

"And Field Marshall Finn," Nick called out just before the fennec Fox exited the courtyard, a jovial grin coming onto his face. "Send a letter of apology to that corsac Fox. I'm afraid I won't be able to lay with her for a very, _very_ long time."

* * *

 **Talk to you all again on Halloween!**

 **Rewritten 6/22/17**

 **Footnotes:**

[1] - Mus, pun on the Rus States. Flecians, pun on the Grecians/Greeks. Horsesets, pun on Dorset.

[2] - In the medieval world, Most European nobles spoke both a local dialect (In this case the 'language of foxes') and Latin (which is the 'common tongue') while most of the lower classes (or commoners) only spoke a local dialect. Finnick does not speak the common tongue since he is a commoner who rose to the position of Field Marshal. This is also the reason why he does not have a name ending in _-us_ like almost all nobles do.


	3. Chapter Two

**This story is getting more attention than I could've ever dreamed of. Thanks a lot!**

 **Due to a family emergency, chapters will most likely take a little longer to pump out and will be (slightly) shorter than what they normally are.**

 **Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

Judy slowly paced out from her bedroom and onto her private balcony, letting the crisp night air and the chilled marble floor cool her overheated body. It was nearing midnight, yet sleep still avoided her. All because of a certain fox who she couldn't keep out of her thoughts...

It had only been two days since her father and the Emperor informed her that they wished for her to marry Nicholas Wilde. _The_ Nicholas Wilde. The most chivalrous mammal on this side of the River Rhine! No matter what she did, she simply couldn't stop thinking about him. She wasn't tired at all from her sleepless nights - just excited! What was Prince Wilde like? How much taller was he than her? Was he as kind as the stories said he was? Did he already have a wife? Was he her age?

These questions remained unanswered, though. Neither her father nor the Emperor had the time to discuss her marriage, and all other foxes who could speak the common tongue and who personally knew her groom were too busy micro-managing the palace and capital or preparing the throne room for the feast which was being held tonight. So, with her apparent isolation in mind, she had decided that instead of waiting around for someone to answer her questions she would instead figure them out for herself once her groom arrived.

Judy finally stopped walking when she reached the edge of her balcony, resting her arms on the elaborately carved stone railing that ran around the edge of the terrace and that ensured that she wouldn't plummet the fifty feet between her balcony and the grassy courtyard below. She let loose a bored sigh as her gaze swooped over the battlements and walls surrounding the palace and eventually rested on a small gateway between two of the giant towers.

Theoretically Prince Wilde was supposed to have arrived at the palace today. Hence why a feast in honor of his and her union was being thrown by their fathers and half the nobility from the Empire and the Burrows as she spoke. But much to her disappointment no word had come through about his arrival, and only a few hours before the feast was to begin a messenger had met with her as she strolled around the palace's gardens and apologized that the Prince wouldn't be arriving until tomorrow morning. She had been greatly looking forward to meeting him this evening, and his absence only spurred her away from the drinking and political discussions which she was positive would eventually envelope the feast and which she had no desire to become embroiled in alone.

So here she was, waiting for one more sleepless night until her questions and anxious mind would finally be put to rest. She stared, bored, at the moon as it continued its ascent over the wide valley which she and a half million rabbits like her called her home and let loose a disappointed sigh.

She couldn't wait one more night to meet her prince. She wanted him here, now.

As if on cue, the low-pitched sound of another mammal sighing interrupted Judy's thoughts and her ears perked up from behind her head as she realized how close to her the sound had come from. She whirled around to look at the wide doorway which led into her bedroom, but no mammal was standing in it, nor was any mammal in her fireplace-lit bedroom. She turned back to the night sky and searched the walls close to her balcony for any mammal who could've made the sound, but the only mammals she could see were a small patrol of foxes who were too far away for even her and her excellent sense of hearing to hear. The sound must've come from somewhere below her...

Judy peered over the edge of the balcony and scanned the grassy clearing below for any mammals, yet there were still none to be found. But out the corner of her vision she caught the flick of a bright orange tail. As soon as it appeared it disappeared, though, and she swiftly moved around the perimeter of the balcony, leaning over the edge as she tried to find where the tail had gone. Once she rounded the corner she finally found the mammal she was looking for, and her eyes widened as she stared at him.

The fox was standing on a balcony much smaller than hers that was part of one of the many guest suites reserved for the palace's more noble guests. But judging by his appearance, the fox didn't seem noble at all. He was shirtless, only wearing a simple pair of black pants with a thin, green band around the top, and he looked bored and weary as he stood hunched over, resting both his arms on the rabbit-sized stone railing that ran around the perimeter of his terrace with his eyes locked onto the moon as it slowly ascended higher and higher into the night sky. He looked well-built, almost like a veteran, and Judy couldn't help but stare at his bulky chest and large arms. She didn't know foxes could become that muscular. Actually, she didn't know much about foxes, _period_.

 _This is exactly what I need!_ She eagerly thought, a plan quickly forming in her head. _I can't just walk in and meet Prince Wilde without knowing anything about his species except for the rumors and reports I've overheard my brothers and their subordinates speaking about. This could be my only chance to find out what a fox is like before tomorrow! In addition, the fox down there could shed some light on what the Prince is like!_

Judy smiled and slowly climbed on top of her balcony's railing. She knew exactly what she had to do.

"Good evening, my lord!" She politely called with a courteous bow of her head as she continued to stare down at the fox at least a floor below her. The fox's eyes widened at her greeting and he turned back to stare at his darkened doorway, just like she had done only a few moments prior. She couldn't help but giggle as the fox became almost frantic when he continued his search for her by leaning over the edge of his balcony and scanning the grassy clearing below.

"Above you, my lord!" Judy called out again, stifling a chuckle. The fox turned his eyes upward, and when he finally caught sight of her he straightened himself and bowed, one of his paws behind his back while his other moved to rest on his chest.

"Good evening, my lady," He greeted, his stunningly green eyes never breaking away from hers. "A little late for a rabbit like you to be talking to a fox, isn't it?"

Judy caught a twinge of sarcasm in the fox's voice and sent him a stubborn smile. She had heard that foxes could be quite sarcastic with foreigners, and it appeared that this fox was sticking to that stereotype.

"I can talk to whoever I want, whenever I want, my lord," She humorously responded, lowering herself to sit on her balcony's stone railing with her feet perilously dangling in the air.

"I wish to speak to you about urgent matters, if you will permit me to," She politely informed as she scooted closer and closer to the edge of the railing, her breaths becoming shaky. "I hope that you catch me, my lord, else I'll fall to my death."

The fox's eyes grew large as he continued to stare up at her, and he raised his arms up and waved both his paws at her in protest.

"My lady," He began, his voice filled with wariness. "It isn't safe for you t-"

Judy ignored the fox, cutting his warning short by moving her rear off the edge of the railing and letting herself fall from her balcony. The cool, midnight air whirled around her for several seconds and her vision blurred as her heartbeats became heavier and heavier. But almost as soon as she fell from the balcony the turbulent air around her calmed was back on solid ground again.

The fox had caught her mid-air a few feet above the stone floor of his own balcony, both of his paws curled around her chest and the white, long-sleeved blouse she was wearing. He was staring up at her with a small smile and a wary but witty gaze.

"You rabbits are much lighter than I expected," The fox casually joked as he gently placed her beside him and returned to rest his arms on the railing and stare up at the moon. Judy smirked at his comment and turned with him, resting both her paws on the balcony's stone railing as she continued to stare up at his face. It had so many edges and curves and points! She would have to be careful around Prince Wilde if she didn't want to have her eyes pecked out by his muzzle.

"Well, my lady, you wish to talk? " The fox rhetorically asked without turning towards her, a courteous smile forming on his face. Judy turned her gaze up to his eyes, which she hadn't realized were looking in her direction. She quickly turned away from him, her face becoming hot and her ears falling behind her head in embarrassment. Staring straight at the fox's face without uttering a word would send him the completely wrong message. She had no intention to lead him on!

"I do, my lord," She politely answered, the embarrassment in her dying down as she turned to stare up at the ever darkening night sky. "I am hoping you could shed some light on your kind. You see, I am to be married to a fox soon, and it unsettles me that I know so little about his species."

The fox's eyes darted away from the sprawling canvas of black, a surprised expression on his face. Judy met his curious gaze with her own wary one, focusing in on his piercing eyes.

"Princess Hopps?" The fox asked in bewilderment, leaning in to study her face, and Judy carefully nodded. When his eyes stopped flying from one corner of her face to the other his gaze warmed and his eyes came to a rest on hers, a respectful grin emerging onto his face.

"Prince Wilde is lucky to be marrying you," He commented, turning back to watch the night sky. Judy's eyes widened at the mention of her groom, and her paws moved to tightly grip the edge of the railing.

"You know Prince Wilde?" She eagerly questioned, her ears perking up and her eyes suddenly alight with excitement. The fox nodded without turning toward her, his stunningly green eyes still stuck to the moon.

"He is a very close friend of mine," The fox explained, tilting his head in her direction and locking eyes with her as a sarcastic smile came onto his face. "You could say we've been best friends since birth."

Judy's mind became filled with questions at his mysterious answer. She could feel herself beginning to bounce up and down in a fit of sheer eagerness. This was exactly what she wanted! Not wanted - needed! But what question to ask first? Oh, so many choices! Should she leap straight in and ask about her groom's habits? Or should she be polite and first inquire about him in general? Maybe she could even ask about his career in the army! She couldn't decide!

The fox next to her lightly chuckled at her indecisiveness and looked back to the sky, and Judy calmed herself and turned back to study the awesome sight as well, an apologetic gaze coming onto her face and her mouth clenching shut.

"I'm sorry, my lord," She apologized, looking at the fox out of the corner of her eye. "That was very unladylike of me."

"It is of no concern, my lady," The fox chuckled in understanding. "I would be just as eager as you if I were marrying the Prince!"

Judy couldn't help but grin in amusement at his witty comparison. This fox was quite a lady's man! It wasn't like she was falling in love with him or anything, but it was good to talk to someone who wasn't always strict and who didn't talk down to her. Maybe they would become good friends once she married the Prince...

But a troubled thought popped up inside her head, and her nose twitched at her ignorance. Here she was, talking to a fox who was quickly becoming her friend but of whom she didn't even know the name of! How _very_ impolite of her!

"May I know your name, my lord?" She asked, turning towards the fox with a sincere expression in an attempt to correct her mistake. The fox continued to stare at the moon in silence, slowly rocking back and forth on his feet as his tail minutely twitched.

"Piberius," He eventually answered. "You may call me Piberius, my lady."

Judy bent legs and bowed her head to the fox, lifting her white gown out to her side with one of her paws while the other remained on the balcony's railing.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, my lord Piberius," She politely said, and a glowing, almost humorous smile came onto the fox's face.

"May I know more about you, my lord?" She asked, turning back to the night sky, and Piberius gave a small nod.

"Of course, my lady," He answered, his nose beginning to twitch as if he was deep in thought. "There isn't much to tell, though. As you can well see, I am a fox, and I serve the Empire as one of the Emperor's many marshals. For my entire life I've been under his instruction, and in that time I've seen a great many of the burrows. However, if you must know the truth, I have never visited any burrow in a time of peace, although I am hoping that will change in the months to come."

Piberius turned towards her, his arms folding over one another as he continued to lean against the balcony's railing, and locked his gaze with hers.

"But that is enough of me," He finished, smiling. "I am not the fox you came to learn about tonight. Tell me, my lady, what do you already know of Prince Wilde?"

"Not much, I must confess," Judy answered, her ears falling behind her head in disappointment. "I've heard many stories about his campaigns in the burrows and many more about his chivalry and compassion he has shown to those he has captured, and I am also aware that he has never taken a life in the heat of battle, but I know next to nothing about his character away from the battle."

"And what do you want his character to be, my lady?" Piberius asked, turning back to the night sky as his eyes scanned the stars with interest. Judy stared up at the fox, reluctance taking over her mind and body. Piberius's question was incredibly personal - far too personal for a lady like her to answer. It was almost uncouth! Would she truly reveal what she hopefully dreamed about the Prince's character to be to a fox she hadn't even known for a night?

Piberius turned toward her again, a curious expression on his face. All Judy could do was stare breathlessly at it - there was something important about it that she couldn't put her finger on yet was influencing her nonetheless. It was filled with such care and warmth, as if they had been friends for a great number of years and he was gently nudging an answer out of her. His whole demeanor just seemed so very trustworthy. If she was going to tell anyone about what she wanted in the Prince, then it would have to be this fox.

"I wish for him to be kind and fair in rule," She truthfully began, finally succumbing to the spell cast on her by Piberius's welcoming expression. "and I wish for him to treat me with the same respect he treats other rabbits with. He must spend his time with me whenever he can, and must not abandon me when I need him most. He must be well mannered and educated - I have no desire to marry a brute - and he must know his romance as if he is a son of Aphrodite herself."

Judy could feel herself blushing at her final statement, but a polite smile from Piberius urged her on.

"Most of all, the Prince must be perfect," She carefully finished. "I know that is much to ask from him, but the Prince of my dreams is nothing _but_ perfect! If he is not so, then... Then I'm not quite cert-"

Piberius abruptly stopped her with a slight raise of his paw, his expression becoming understanding and reassuring.

"My lady," He gently began. "There is no reason to think about that unfortunate - and completely fanciful - future. I can assure you that Prince Wilde is the most exemplary mammal I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and that he will even exceed your exceedingly high expectations."

Piberius turned away from her, his eyes brightened by the moon's ghostly white glow. Judy turned with him, a small, comforted smile coming onto her face and her ears perking in elation as her eyes skipped from star to star.

"Prince Wilde is, truly, the jewel of the Empire," Piberius went on, his easing words ebbing the weight pressing down on her mind. "I daresay he may even be the jewel of the known world! He is everything you ask of him and more. You wish him to be kind - he is kinder than even the poorest of anchorites. You want him to respect you? My lady, that is of no concern, for he respects all mammals of all orders! And he has been well trained in the common tongue and literature; I can guarantee that you and him will have many great conversations about the classics."

Judy's smile grew exponentially as more and more reassurances flowed from Piberius's lips, and for the first time in days she finally felt at peace. This night couldn't have gone any better, and it still had yet to end. Not only had she spoken with a fox on a personal, private level for the first time in her life, but she had learned about her groom - and from the sounds of it, she had been completely overthinking him! She had been foolish to worry and let anxiety plague her. All would turn out well in the end. The only thing she had to do now was wait until dawn to meet with him...

"Although, as you would expect with any mammal, he does have some characteristics which are an acquired taste," Piberius humorously continued, sensing her more joyous aura. Judy turned to the fox, of whom she was beginning to feel she was quickly becoming a friend of, and cocked an eyebrow.

"Such as what, my lord?" She asked in a tone of mock suspicion, and Piberius shrugged, watching her from the corners of his eyes.

"For one, his sense of humor can be considered 'foreign'," Piberius blithely began, and Judy huffed in amusement at his quip. If that was the only foreign part of the Prince then she'd be damned! "And many describe him as being overly witty and far too astute - even for a fox!"

"If those are his least favorable traits, my lord, then I will still gladly call him my groom," Judy swiftly rebuked, turning to look at the night sky and inciting a chuckle from Piberius.

"If that is your decision, my lady," He gleefully conceded as his chuckles ended. "But now I must, regretfully, tell you of Prince Wilde's most prominent flaw."

Piberius turned away from the balcony's railing, leaning over so his muzzle was only centimeters away from her head. Judy perked her ears in interest and a curious expression came onto her face as Piberius slowly opened his mouth, letting his hot breaths exhale onto the side of her face.

"He's standing right next to you," He barely whispered, his tone still filled with humor.

Judy felt her heart jump into her throat at Piberius's words, and she turned to stare wide-eyed at the fox. Had he really just said what she had heard, or was her sleep deprived mind playing tricks on her?

"Prince Wilde?" She asked in disbelief, and Piberius backed away from her and politely bowed, a huge, sly grimace on his face.

"That is my name, my lady," Piberius confirmed, his jocular eyes refusing to depart from her shocked ones. Judy watched him cloesly as he moved back to the balcony's railing and rested his arms on it, her mind processing every aspect of what had just happened. She hadn't been talking to some fox who just happened to be a friend of Prince Wilde - she had been talking to the Prince himself for the entire night! He had created a fake persona by the name of _Piberius_ just so he could reveal his true identity and dismay her! How _very_ rude and Machiavellian of him!

"Still speechless, my lady?" Prince Wilde rhetorically commented, noticing her continuing to stare at him out of the corners of his eyes. "Maybe discussing how the Prince is a ' _son of Aphrodite herself'_ will help calm you."

The shock finally began to ebb from Judy at the Prince's mockingly rude repetition of what she had revealed to him a few moments earlier, and the vacant emotional space was soon filled with anger and outrage. How _dare_ this fox treat her like nothing but a common street wench? _She_ , Princess Judith Hopps, daughter of one of the most prestigious kings the world has ever known, was nothing more than an amusing toy to this _Prince_ \- if she could even call him that! She wouldn't stand for _that_ for even an instant.

"You _fiend_!" Judy fumed in outrage, turning her body towards Prince Wilde with both of her paws tightly clenched into fists as they stiffly hung at her sides. "You vile, lying _fiend_! I demand an apology at once!"

Prince Wilde softly chuckled at her as he turned to face her head on, his sly smile and relaxed, innocent expression only fanning the flames inside of her small body.

"My Princess, I have done nothing which requires an apology," He coyly replied. "I have been nothing but an innocent fox on this night."

"Hardly so!" Judy exclaimed in outrage, stomping up to him and pushing him away from the edge of the balcony with both her paws. The Prince stumbled away from her and into the center of the balcony, his eyes suddenly filled with surprise.

"You have been nothing but disrespectful to me tonight!" Judy continued, beginning to march toward him again. "You lied about who you were so you could coax secrets out of me, you were uncaring when it came to how keeping your identity secret would affect me, and worst of all, you were and _are_ not acting like a Prince should!"

Prince Wilde sent Judy a partially calm, partially panicked smile and began to retreat from her advance, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

"My Princess-" He began, raising both his paws out in front of him to try and stop her aggressive strides toward him, but before he could explain himself Judy interrupted him.

"Shut it!" She growled, ducking underneath his arms and giving him a hard shoved which pushed him out of the white moonlight illuminating the balcony and into the darkness of his suite. She followed him in, her eyes quickly adjusting to the gloomy room whose only source of light was the open doorway that led out onto the balcony she had just left.

"There is no defense for your actions tonight," She fiercely exclaimed, pursing Prince Wilde further into the darkened room even as an overtly worried expression consumed his face and his ears fell behind his head in fright. "And I only expect one thing from you from now on!"

Prince Wilde, unaware of where his retreat was taking him, stumbled on a low dresser no higher than his ankles resting at the foot of his bed and fell back onto its red cotton sheets. Judy continued her advance toward him, determined to show him how domineering she could be when she was used and mistreated. Prince Wilde scrambled to the far end of his rabbit-sized bed, his head resting against its backboard and his back against the white pillows as he stared at Judy with a pleading and terrified expression.

"I expect you to be _Prince_ Wilde," Judy hissed, resting her foot on the dresser and placing her paws against her hips. "The mammal I met tonight is _not_ the mammal I will meet tomorrow morning. Do you understand, my Prince?"

Prince Wilde vigorously nodded his head in answer.

"I do, my Princess Carrots," He answered, his voice frightened but his mind not wise enough to keep the rude nickname for her to himself. The anger which had begun to die down in Judy re-ignited itself at the name, and she felt her eye beginning to twitch in an overpowering desire to murder the Prince. He was as good as a dead fox.

" _Carrots?_ " She whispered, her voice menacingly quiet, and she stepped up her other foot onto the dresser and crawled onto the cool, red sheets of the bed.

"My lord," She growled, crawling closer and closer to Prince Wilde's petrified face. She didn't notice as she crawled on top of him, her paws holding her up from in-between his arms and chest, her legs straddled over his waist, and her face not even an inch from his twitching nose and large, frightened eyes.

"If you _ever_ call me that name again, then I will have no choice to take the most drastic of measures," She threatened, her voice calm but stern and her ears falling behind her head in annoyance and anger. The stare between her and the Prince lasted for what seemed like an eternity, and only ended when, much to her dismay, the Prince smiled at her, his whole demeanor changing from submissive to dominant in an instant.

"Measures such as this?" He rhetorically asked, his voice filled with humor as he moved his paw up from limply lying on the bed and to grip her rear, making her jump in surprise and turn to look back at herself. It was only then that she realized how close she was to him.

All she managed to do was nervously open her mouth as her eyes widened to the size of two moons while all the blood drained from her expression. During her long and fiery tirade she had absentmindedly wandered into an incredibly intimate position with Prince Wilde, her legs straddling over his waist, her white nightgown halfway rolled up her legs, and her body hovering only a few paw-lengths above his shirtless chest. She could feel waves of heat radiating out of the paw resting on her rear and onto the fur around the base of her tail, and her heart began to beat out of her chest as a hundred different possibilities of what would happen next played out in her head.

She had never been in such a private position with any other mammal before. From what she had read in many of her books, being in such a position only meant one thing - and Judy gulped in nervousness at the idea. But before she could even have a second thought about it, the soft, strange touch of velvet rubbed against her chin, and a tight grip guided her face back towards the fox who she was so close to laying on top of.

Prince Wilde had his free paw holding her chin while a witty, amused smile and a half lidded gaze were carved into his face. Judy couldn't help but motionlessly stare back at him, her face heating up in embarrassment. Oh, how the tables had turned.

"I am offended at what you said, my Princess," Prince Wilde lightheartedly chided, his paw moving up from her chin to tenderly rest on the side of her face and his expression turning innocent. "Do you truly think me to be nothing but a fiend?"

"I- I-" Judy frenziedly stuttered, stopping her attempt at an explanation when the Prince took his paw off her face and held one of his fingers against her lips. There was something almost soothing in his eyes which made her racing mind slow down and butterflies erupt in her stomach. She didn't quite know what the new feeling she was experiencing right now was, but she didn't feel she had any need to know. All she did know about it was that she wanted more. An _extraordinarily_ huge amount more.

"Princess Hopps, I can assure you that I am no fiend," Prince Wilde assured, moving his paw up from Judy's lips and forcefully stroking her ears as they lay limp against her back. Judy closed her eyes and shivered in delight as his velvet paw slowly made its way down the full length of her sensitive ears, taking an almost guilty pleasure in every moment of it.

"I would also like to assure you that I am no liar - and that I am not rude nor uncaring as well, for that matter," Prince Wilde continued, his voice as smooth and soft as silk. "I have many names, my lady, and Nicholas and Piberius are but two of them. I have never lied about who I am on this night. Piberius is my time in war and Wilde is my time in peace, but together they make the mammal you'll marry in the very near future, of whom I can already tell you have feelings for. Am I wrong to assume that, my Princess?"

"No," Judy barely breathed, her mind in a state of ecstasy as she cracked her eyes open, only revealing a blurred image of the Prince's orange and white facial fur.

"That's music to my ears, princess," Prince Wilde continued as a devious smile came onto his face, his claws beginning to join his paw carefully stroking her ears, only plunging her deeper into the depths of euphoria. "But if we are to marry one another, then you must be aware of my traits which are quite... _unique_. You see, my Princess, I can say with great confidence that I am far more witty and crafty than any rabbit you have ever met. I will use you, and in return I expect you to use me. But I can guarantee that I will _never_ be anything else besides the mammal you have met tonight; you will _never_ hear me utter any unkind words about you, and whenever we meet I will treat you how you should be treated. As _my_ Princess."

Judy felt Prince Wilde move the paw resting on her rear down to the back side of her knee, her half rolled-up dress inviting his paw to wander around her thin leg fur.

"Now then, my lady," Prince Wilde suggestively began, and Judy's eyes widened as he leaned in a little closer to her face. "Would you like to discuss Prince Wilde's _romantic_ habits?"

"Yes, my Prince," Judy exhaled, not feeling embarrassed like before but instead eager, and at her answer she felt one of Prince Wilde's claws dig into the back of her knee, hitting a nerve she didn't even know was there. She gasped in surprise as both her legs suddenly gave out and she collapsed forward onto the Prince's exposed chest, her chin plunging into the soft tuft of fur at the top of it while her arms clung to his broad shoulders and her hips landed on his lower core. Her face heated up as she stared up at the his amused but caring expression, and she couldn't help but burrow herself a little deeper into his fur. She knew what was coming next - and she didn't want to have to wait for it for a single more second.

Judy closed her eyes and leaned closer towards Prince Wilde's muzzle, and as her vision turned dark she caught him doing the same and felt his paw wandering up from her knee to rest on her rear again. She felt his warm breath on her face as they edged closer and closer to one another's lips, her heart beating so fast that she was beginning to wonder if she needed to call a physician. But underneath his fur Judy could feel his heart beating just as fast as hers, and the thought of him being equally as awake and excited as she was spurred her onward at even greater speeds. This was a magical night for the both of them...

Their muzzles weren't even a paw's length away from one another now, and Judy could almost taste the Prince's lips. But before they could truly embrace one another, the startling sound of a mammal knocking against wood interrupted them. Judy's eyes flashed open as quick as comet, as did Prince Wilde's, and they stared at one another in surprise and confusion, their muzzles so close that Judy could feel the Prince's twitching nose against hers.

"Prince Wilde!" A muffled voice called from behind the thick, oak door that led out of the single-roomed suite and into the hallway. Judy immediately recognized it as her eldest brother, Prince Gregory's, voice, and instantly darted up to her knees. Prince Wilde's paw laying atop her ears slid down to the base of her tail as she straightened them, visibly startled by her brother's sudden appearance.

"King Hopps and Emperor Canus request your presence!" Prince Gregory belligerently shouted, his voice quaky. Judy could only assume that he had participated a little too much in the night's drinking contests. Prince Wilde continued to keep his eyes on hers as a humorous, devious expression took control of his face.

"I regret to inform you, my good rabbit, that I cannot join in the celebrations this evening," The Prince yelled back in response, his body not moving an inch towards the door, completely complacent. "Tell my father and the King that I am familiarizing myself with a much more important and... _private_ matter of state."

Judy suppressed a snicker at the Prince's wry response, not wanting to alert her brother to her presence. She was curious to see how the conversation would play out...

"Private?" Judy heard her brother mumbling under his breath before his voice raised, suddenly filled with heated suspicion. "What foul deeds do you make, _vile_ _fox_?"

The sound of a doorknob turning entered Judy's ears, and her head flew toward the doorway in panic, breaking her and the Prince's stare. Slowly, almost cautiously, Prince Gregory was turning the doorknob to open the door, and Judy's mind began to panic at the thought of her brother walking in on her and the Prince while they were in such a very compromising position. She turned back to the fox she was sitting on top of, but he didn't seem bothered by her brother's intrusion.

One of his eyebrows was raised in curiosity and a genuinely interested smile was chiseled into his muzzle. He wasn't going to stop her brother's encroachment. Without even saying a word he was forcing her to reveal her presence to him. And she _definitely_ was not going to allow him to storm in and ruin the volatile and passion-driven night she was having.

"Prince Gregory!" She shouted in anger as her head flew back to stare at the now barely cracked-open door. "Halt your advances at once!"

There was a moment of silence from the other side of the door, and in that brief time she sent Prince Wilde an annoyed glare out of the corner of her eyes.

"Judith?" Prince Gregory eventually exclaimed in surprise, and Judy growled at the drunken hostility in his voice.

"Yes?" She rhetorically snapped back. "Why have you interrupted my night, Gregory? Didn't father warn you not to disturb me?"

"Of course he did!" Prince Gregory arrogantly spat. "But I came to Prince Wilde's quarters, not _yours_!"

"Well I am accompanying Prince Wilde, and currently he's preoccupied with something!" Judy ferociously rebuked, and she felt the air heating up in light of the quickly escalating situation. Prince Gregory growled from behind the door before slamming it shut, the small strip of light coming from its crack snuffing out.

"Fine!" The rabbit shouted as loudly as he could, trying to draw attention to himself in the otherwise silent hallway. "Sleep with a fox, see if I care! It'll be you who'll regret this tomorrow!"

Judy growled at her brother as she listened to his light and erratic footsteps march down the stone floor of the hallway. As soon as they became as faint as a leaf on the wind she turned back to Prince Wilde with a stern and serious gaze, but the fox just stared at her with a smug smile. A feeling of annoyance pulsed up inside her, yet it wasn't an angry annoyance like it had been before but instead a lighthearted, almost jovial feeling.

"Your brother seems like a truly stellar mammal, my Princess," Prince Wilde joked, and Judy scoffed at him, slowly collapsing back onto his chest and jabbing him in the gut with her paw, which drew a surprised grunt out of him.

"My Prince," She gently began, resting the side of her head on his chest and wrapping both her paws around his neck as a relaxed smile came onto her face. "If you _ever_ force me into an uncomfortable position again, then I must say I'll have to take-"

"The most drastic of measures?" Prince Wilde finished, moving the paw laying on her lower back up to cup the side of her head. "My Princess, is your solution to everything I say or do which displeases you to climb on top of me?"

Judy chuckled at the Prince's dirty quip, letting her straightened ears fall onto the back of his paw. She normally would only scoff at crude jokes, her formal and ladylike mindset not allowing her to becoming amused at such things, but in the presence of the Prince she felt like it was alright to be humored by it. In fact, she felt really and truly comfortable in his presence, both physically and mentally. He wasn't like any other royalty she had met, and she had met plenty of other ladies and lords at the banquets of her father. His laid-back personality, his moderately vulgar humor, and his ability to break down her barriers so she could just be who she was inside were beginning to touch her in a very pleasing way.

Judy smiled and pressed the side of her face deeper into Prince Wilde's chest fur, closing her eyes and letting sleep begin to take control of her mind. The night hadn't gone as planned, but that didn't mean it was a disappointment. It was embarrassing, rage-filled, and personal, yet at its conclusion she had met the mammal she would marry - and he was even better than she could have ever expected.

"Goodnight, Prince Wilde," She mumbled with a large yawn, and she felt the Prince shift slightly, moving her into a far more comfortable and close position.

"Please, my Princess," He gently responded, slowly stroking the side of her head. "Call me Nicholas."

Judy smiled at the Prince's words and relaxed her body, giving him complete control of holding her however he pleased.

"As you wish, Nicholas," She warmly whispered as exhaustion finally consumed her and she drifted off into a euphoric sleep.

* * *

 **Talk to you all again after Thanksgiving!**

 **Rewritten 6/23/17**


	4. Chapter Three

**As always, excellent response for the last chapter. Although just because there's romance now that doesn't mean that trouble won't soon follow!**

 **Here's chapter three of a Fox in Shining Armor! Enjoy!**

* * *

The room was stiller than a sleeping mouse's whisker. A cool, predawn breeze blew through the door which neither Nick nor the Princess had bothered to shut the night before. The first pink rays of the sun's light streamed into the bedroom, turning the dressers lining the walls bright pink and the red sheets on the bed a beautiful rose color. Yet Nick's eyes didn't wander around the once-in-a-lifetime moment surrounding him; he was focused on much more beautiful sight.

She was sleeping, her head resting on his bare chest and her arms lazily wrapped around his neck. Her white nightgown was a stunning tulip's pink in the dim sunlight and her fur was sprinkled with spots of the same color. In one word, she was a nymph.

Nick smiled the longer he stared at the rabbit on top of him. He didn't know what he was expecting in Princess Hopps when she happened to call out to him the night before, but she was far better than even what he would consider to be the 'perfect lady'. She was fiery, passion-filled, and independent - traits he would expect to find in an adventurer opposed to royalty! Her attitude towards him was as strange as her foreign body. In one night she had gone from treating him like a friend to treating him like a monster before backtracking to treat him like someone special. But if he knew his feelings like one of his stature should, and he certainly did, then he was experiencing the exact same feeling the Princess was.

Most of all, there was a spark. Something new and unseen had clicked between them the previous night - something more than simple friendliness towards one another only because of their arranged marriage. Nick could feel it blossoming in his heart. The flames of romance were beginning to burn for the rabbit whose mere presence had prevented him from sleeping.

As careful as he could be Nick lifted his paw off of the side of the Princess's head, making sure not to disturb her slumber, and gently began to stroke her sensitive ears resting on her back. Almost at once she reacted, her paws clenching onto his shoulders and her head pressing deeper into his chest.

"Good morning, my Princess," He whispered into her ears, his voice no louder than a breath and filled to the brim with suggestive thoughts. The Princess fidgeted in response, raising her head off his chest and slowly blinking opening her eyes as her paws slithered off his shoulders and her leg stretched out behind her, her toes gently rubbing his tail between them.

Nick's eye began to twitch at the tight grip on his incredibly sensitive tail, one of the sayings he had told the her the night prior replaying in his mind.

" _I will use you, and in return I expect you to use me."_

 _Maybe now is not the time to use each other..._ Nick quickly decided as he stopped stroking the Princess's ears and rested his paw on her lower back. In return the Princess also stopped stroking his tail and sat up, her paws curling around the back of his neck and her ears perking in delight.

"Good morning, Nicholas," She greeted, her eyes a dark purple and a small, devious smile on her face. It was clear that she had already mastered his use of physical manipulation. "How was your rest?"

"I had none, my Princess," Nick answered as he moved his free paw to rest on her hindquarters. "I was too preoccupied admiring the beauty of a mammal laying atop me."

Princess Hopps grinned at his sly compliment and scooted closer to him, her legs straddled over his lower core.

"How charming," She warmly replied as she pressed herself back up against him, her head facing towards the open doorway and the pink morning sky beyond as she pushed her head between his chin and chest. "If I may ask, why have you awoken me at such an early hour?"

"I had no desire to wake you from slumber, my Princess," Nick answered as he moved his gaze off her and to the sun as it slowly peeked between two forest-covered mountains far in the distance. "Yet I had no choice. The marshals and lords of the Empire and the Burrows are gathering in the throne room this morning. Last night I was invited to join them."

"When does that begin?" The Princess asked, but before Nick could answer a loud knock drew his attention and gaze towards his bedroom's other door; the same one that Prince Gregory, the ill-tempered Princess's brother, had attempted to open the night prior.

"Sorry to disturb you both, my Prince and Princess," A heavy and muffled voice began. "But the lords have begun to gather and the Emperor has requested Prince Wilde's presence."

Nick would always recognized Field Marshal Finn's voice, regardless if it was disfigured by two inches of wood or not. His eyes dropped downward to look at the Princess, a humored smile coming onto his face as he stared into the deep pools of purple staring back at him.

"Does that answer your question, my Princess?" He rhetorically asked, and Princess Hopps grimaced and nodded at his question as she moved to sit up on his waist, her ears still focused towards the door.

"Thank you, Finn," Nick shouted back to his vulpine counterpart. "I shall be out momentarily!"

Nick heard some kind of acknowledgement from the fennec fox outside and turned back to the Princess. She let out a sigh of disappointment as her eyes fell and she shook his paws off of her.

"If you are leaving, Nicholas, then I suppose I should as well," She regretfully commented as she swung her legs over him and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "Even though we are to be married, I do not wish to send mammals foul thoughts by spending the morning waiting for your return in your residence."

"If that's what you wish," Nick responded, shrugging, as he followed her to the side of the bed. "Maybe I'll meet you in your own bedroom after the day's duties are finished. I've heard that your suite is very... _private_."

Princess Hopps turned to look at him, her eyes wide and her smile annoyed but still full of affection.

"Is that all you foxes think about?" She wittily questioned as she slid off the bed and strode towards a dresser by the bedroom's front door.

"No," Nick jokingly replied, sliding off the bed and following her before he rounded the foot of the bed and walked towards the door leading out to the balcony. "It's what all us _males_ think about."

Even with his ears and eyes trained away from her he heard Princess Hopps scoff and watched her slowly shake her head as she pulled open one of the dresser's drawers, her lively eyes searching for something inside.

"Maybe we shall meet in my quarters sometime, Nicholas," She commented, her paws beginning to pick up and move things inside the drawer. "But in good time. Now hurry up. I doubt you'd want to be late to something my father is attending."

"I doubt I'd want to be late to something the _Emperor_ is attending," Nick corrected, his attention shifting to the armor rack in front of him. He stifled a laugh as he looked over the rabbit-sized frame, his paw clenching into a fist and raising up to cover his lips.

When he had stripped himself of his armor just after he had arrived at the palace the night prior he had thought that he had been placing it on a fox-shaped armor rack generously provided to him by his host. But he had been erroneous in his thought process, and as a result he was now looking at a rabbit-shaped manikin wearing every piece of his fox-sized armor. He'd never become accustomed to all this rabbit-sized furniture.

Nick stepped forward, one of his paws tugging at the string of his black, fabric pants while the other lifted his unadorned, ceremonial galea off of the manikin's head. He stared at the steel helmet for a moment as his paw continued to tug on the string of his pants, but instead of placing it over his head he rested it on top of a nearby wardrobe. He doubted he'd need the uncomfortable and rarely-used piece for the upcoming gathering unless a civil war broke out.

 _But in these times it is a possibility..._ He realistically pondered as the knot at the top of his crotch finally came undone and his pants fell to the floor, leaving him completely nude. Deciding that it was still not worth the effort, Nick pushed the helmet out of his thoughts and casually unattached his steel forearm guards from the manikin before beginning to tie them to his own arms.

"Ach!" He heard Princess Hopps suddenly exclaim as she slammed a drawer shut. "My father keeps spare clothing for visiting ladies in every room except this one? Why must life be so... _firm_..."

Nick perked his ears at the sudden change of the Princess's tone, and as he pulled the straps shut on one of his braces he turned his head over his shoulder to see what 'firm' object had caught the her attention.

Apparently, it was him! The Princess's ears had fallen behind her head, her mouth gaping wide, and her huge, startled, and almost overwhelmed eyes were focused on the base of his tail and the parts of his hindquarters that he had left visible.

 _So_ that's _what's firm!_ Nick drolly thought as he tightened his other brace and moved his paws to lift the steel shoulder plates of his lorica segmentata off the manikin, all the while keeping his eyes locked with the Princess's.

"See something that interests you, my Princess?" Nick asked, deliberately making his voice as salacious as possible. "I can assure you I can answer any questions you might have about a male fox!"

The Princess didn't react to his crude comment, her eyes still focused on his mid-section with interest and embarrassment. Nick just continued to dress himself, trying to make his movements as risque as he could without being obscene. He pulled his shoulder plates over his head and secured them onto his shoulders before he bent down to pull his steel shin guards off of the manikin, purposefully flexing his back muscles and flicking his tail back and forth across the floor.

But a small feeling of the need for privacy entered his thoughts as he felt the gaze of the Princess continuing to burn into his fur. While he wanted to joke with his fiance and make her feel uncomfortable, he wasn't sure if he himself was comfortable with her ogling his body while he dressed himself.

"My Princess," He politely began as he straightened himself and looked over his shoulder, a calm and unflinching expression on his face. "Whilst I am honored to have your attention, I'd much rather prefer a moment of privacy as I dress."

The Princess's panicked eyes shot up from his lower back and stared at his face for several seconds. It was only then that she turned away from him, her mouth clenching shut, her paws clasping together as her arms hung limp from her shoulders, and her face filled to the brim with apprehension and shame. Even her scent was frightened. To him, it appeared as if she had only just realized that she had been staring at him.

Nick turned back to the manikin, his mind at relative ease as he refocused on his armor. His paws carefully lifted the untightened chest plate of his lorica segmentata off the manikin, and within a second it was encompassed around his trunk, the strings on its back tied tightly. The last part of his military attire wasn't arduous to put on; he lifted the steel and leather skirt up and over the manikin's head before he held it out in front of him and stepped into it, putting his tail through first so that it wasn't crushed.

Nick exhaled in content as he briefly looked over himself and walked over to a nearby dresser, focusing on the various weapons and their holsters laying on top of it. He didn't think that he'd need any at the meeting unless a fight broke out, and he was sure that even if one did break out the Emperor and the King would be quick to put an end to it. Yet walking into the gathering unarmed wouldn't project him as his Emperor Canus's and King Hopps's successor. He needed some kind of arming if he was to look even the least bit regal.

His lance leaning against the nearby wall wouldn't do - neither would his rapier nor ornate shield. His combat sword was too large, and the crossbow gifted to him by the Emperor wasn't even functional...

Eventually he settled on a simple, fox-sized dagger, and he attached the weapon's sheath and belt onto his waist. Finally satisfied with his appearance he turned back to the room, but he nearly jumped out of his fur when he saw the Princess no longer standing by the wardrobe across the room but directly in front of him, an emotionless and hard expression on her face. A frown was furrowed onto her forehead and her eyes were cast off to another part of the room, as if she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"I must express my deepest regret, my Prince," She formally and coldly said. "Staring was very unladylike of me. I believe it would be for the best for both of us if we spend the remainder of the day separated from one another."

Nick stared down at the rabbit in front of him, a wave of compassion rolling over him. He couldn't help but smile at her twitching nose and feel a desire to ease the discomfort within her. He moved his paw to gently rest on her shoulder as he knelt down to look at her on her eye level, and she turned towards him quizzically as he began to stroke the side of her face with his other paw.

"Judith," He began, his voice full of comfort and his soothing eyes trying to calm the churning emotions within hers. "You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. And I promise you on my _honor_ that I will never send you away from me. We shall spend time with one another every day - just like we ought to as an engaged couple."

The tension in Princess Hopps slowly disappeared the longer Nick stared at her, and eventually even a small smile cracked onto her face.

"Thank you, Nicholas," She warmly said, throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his neck while she rested her head on his shoulder. Nick was partially taken aback by her sudden show of affection and at first didn't quite know how to respond. But he soon found himself taking comfort in their embrace and wrapping his arms around her. He never wanted the warm, fuzzy moment which was always so elusive in life to end. This rabbit was going to be the mammal he would marry, whether it be arranged or not.

After a what felt like a lifetime Nick felt a gentle pat on his back, and he warily pulled away from Princess Hopps, not wanting to end the moment just yet.

"You don't want to be late to the Emperor," She lightheartedly warned, her eyes filled with unfulfilled thoughts. She gradually stepped away from him, her paws uncurling from his neck and falling to rest clutched with one another. Nick stood still for several seconds, his eyes still locked with hers, and before he walked around her and towards the front door he planted a small kiss on the top of her forehead. As he passed her he saw surprise and a bright red blush consume her face.

"Nicholas?" She called out just before he opened the door, and Nick turned towards her, his paw resting on the door's doorknob. Her face was nervous yet sincere, and he perked his ears in interest as an awkward smile formed on her face.

"Maybe... maybe we _can_ meet in my quarters today," She awkwardly suggested, and Nick snickered at the half-innocent half-devious tone of her voice. It was blatantly obvious she didn't have much practice in the art of verbal arousal.

"I don't think there's any need for that, Judith," He replied, his eyes falling to stare at her white gown as her smile shrunk and her eyes widened in confusion. Sunlight was now pouring through the doorway behind her, and it was just bright enough to render her clothing translucent. He had to admit her body looked stunning - and fit! Maybe he was marrying an _active_ princess! That'd be quite the interesting experience!

"Maybe you should wear a thicker dress next time we meet," He racily commented, raising an eyebrow as his gaze briefly returned to hers. Her ears fell behind her head at his suggestion and one of her paws darted up to cover her chest while the other descended to her crotch as panic and embarrassment consumed her face. Nick turned back towards the door and pulled it open, a content smile on his face and his eyes no more than half-open.

He stepped out into the hallway, leaving the entrance to his quarters wide open behind him, and for the second time this morning nearly jumped out of his fur when he saw Field Marshal Finn, in a full set of heavy body armor, leaning against the wall just beside the door.

"Field Marshal Finn!" He suddenly exclaimed, surprised. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

"Nicholas Wilde, you lewd fox!" The short fox accusingly exclaimed, a dark smile on his face. "I almost thought you were going to be late to the meeting with what you were saying to the Princess!"

Nick's ears fell behind his head and a nervous smile emerged onto his face, but before he could speak he felt a paw on his arm.

"You heard all of that, my lord?" Princess Hopps nervously asked as she peeked out from behind him, her ears hanging stiffly behind her head.

"Of course I did, my lady," The Field Marshal nonchalantly answered, pushing off the wall with one of his paws while the other pointed up to one of his gigantic ears. "These are not for show."

Princess Hopps looked flustered and stunned by his answer, and she looked up to Nick with an apologetic and awkward smile. He looked back at her with the same expression, feeling somewhat guilty that they had been caught flirting inappropriately with one another.

"I think it's time I departed, Nicholas," She hurriedly farewelled as she turned and sprinted down the deserted hallway at full speed. Nick wanted to join her and get as far away from the Field Marshal as he could, but he stood rooted to the spot, his eyes locked with the bouncing ball of fluff that she called a tail.

"Until next time, Fluff!" He shouted at her, waving in farewell, and just before she turned the corner at the end of the hall she sent him a fiery and embarrassed glare.

"You better be careful, Prince Wilde," Field Marshal Finn warned, glancing up at him. "Princess Hopps sounds like the type of mate that would shave you when you anger her."

"And that's a bad thing?" Nick warmly asked, his eyes still watching the end of the hallway while his arms fell behind his back. "She's not at all like the other ladies I've spent time with. Her actions, her mind, her thoughts. She's strange in every possible way..."

The Field Marshal snorted at the longing and affection in his voice and turned to walk down the hallway in the opposite direction the Princess had gone.

"Sounds like you're falling in love," He grumbled, and Nick smiled.

"Maybe I am," He replied, but the happiness on his face fled as confusion took its place. There was something awry about the conversation that had just taken place.

"Wait," Nick sternly began, turning towards the Field Marshal. "When did you learn to speak the common tongue, Finn?"

"It's Marshal Fenus from now on, Prince Wilde," The fox shouted over his shoulder, not stopping to wait for him. "Someone has to take your place in the military hierarchy! Nun _Komm_ _Schnell!_ Wir wollen doch nicht zu spät kommen!" **[1]**

* * *

Nick stared in awe at the stained glass panel above the small, stone throne at the far end of the hall as he walked through the massive, gate-like doors that marked the entrance to the palace's throne room. Sunlight streamed through it, illuminating the open stone floor below it a hundred different colors.

This wide, open space, which up until recently was where King Hopps held his court, was far grander than he had expected. He thought it would be little more than a small stone room with a rabbit-sized stone chair resting in the middle of it, not fit at all for large numbers of both rabbits and foxes. But as his astonished gaze fell from the stained glass and turned to the colorful tapestries hanging on the walls he felt he had never been more wrong. Rabbits preferred things a thousand times more grand than a fox would.

Nick felt a light hit on his arm and he turned away from the tapestries to look down at Marshal Fenus, who was standing beside him with a stern expression. The fennec fox sent him a small nod in farewell before he wandered over to converse with Castellan Vilicus, the manager of the Emperor's court, who was standing a few feet from the doors expectantly.

Nick stood in the doorway for several strained moments, unsure of what to do, but began to walk towards the throne when he caught sight of Emperor Canus deep in conversation with a large, regally-dressed rabbit. He made his strides long and unhurried, his eyes and ears taking in everything going on throughout the busy commotion.

On the left side of the room was a mass of rabbits, all talking loudly. There were dozens, if not a hundred, of them, all eloquently dressed and speaking to one another in small groups. One group of three or four looked at him as he walked by, and he sent them all a welcoming smiles. They returned ones of their own, and he couldn't help but feel warmed by their show of friendliness. Maybe the divide between their two species would be healed easier than expected!

The right side of the room was far less populated and loud than the left. The number of guards outnumbered the number of marshals and advisers, who Nick knew all on a personal level, at least two to one. Standing by the throne's side was what remained of the Emperor's entourage, now no more than six foxes. Originally the two-hundred eleven electors hailing from the various towns and cities of the Empire would've joined the remaining six and kept with the Emperor at all times, but with the reformation of the Empire from an elective to a hereditary monarchy Nick guessed that the few foxes who remained were those who still supported Emperor Canus despite the drastic changes.

The remaining foxes on the right side of the room were either marshals or advisers. Mercatus, a young red fox who was the Emperor's adviser on trade, was laughing while Advectius, a young and fiery middle-aged sechuran fox that advised the Emperor on international affairs argued with Grand Marshal Paratus, a staunch, stubborn red fox almost as large as the Emperor himself and who was the voice of the Empire's military. Beside them a group of four foxes, all of them in uniquely styled plate armor, calmly talked with one another. They were the Empire's other marshals; foxes Nick had come to know very well over the past several years.

Closest to him as he strode past the group was Marshal Alsius, a middle-aged arctic fox that never seemed to become angry at anyone for any reason. Beside Alsius was Marshal Certus, a taller-than-normal bengal fox, and Marshal Citus, a red fox, while across from him was Marshal Navus, an old grey fox that everyone, including Nick, couldn't help but be wary of.

He caught the attention of Marshal Certus as he strode by the tight-knit group, the fox perking his ears and sending him a welcoming grin as he hurried towards him, goblet in paw.

"My Prince _Piberius_ ," He greeted, bowing his head, and Nick returned the short fox's polite gesture with a bow of his own.

"It is a pleasure to see you, as always, Marshal Certus," He welcomed, smiling down at him. "I trust the Empire is as prosperous as it was since my departure some months ago?"

"If one could call it that in the first place, then yes, it is," The wily Marshal joked, his grin becoming formal. "And may I extend my deepest congratulations of the betrothal between you and Princess Hopps."

"Thank you, Certus," He radiantly thanked, puffing out his chest fur underneath his armor.

"I heard the both of you spent last evening becoming acquainted with one another," Marshal Certus mentioned, raising a suspicious eyebrow as he tipped the goblet in his paw towards him. "Would you care for a refreshing beverage before the formalities begin?"

Nick nodded, grabbing the engraved cup from him and taking a minuscule sip of quenching water that soothed the thirst he had built up from the active night. Had he been in a more casual setting he would have drunken it all.

"A welcome feeling," He noted with a sarcastic grin, returning the mostly-filled cup to the Marshal's paw.

"Prince Wilde!" A welcoming voice greeted, drawing Nick's attention away from the Marshal and towards the foot of the throne. Emperor Canus was waiting for him there, his arms opened wide and a warm smile on his face. Nick accepted the friendly hug, hurriedly pacing up to the massive fox and tightly wrapping his arms around the his chest plate as he returned the favor along with a forceful pat on his back.

"It's good to see you again, Nicholas," The Emperor said, pulling away from their embrace but keeping his paws on Nick's shoulders. "I trust the journey here wasn't troubling?"

"Not at all, my Emperor," Nick answered, a polite smile forming on his face. "I apologize for my absence at the celebration last night. After a day and a half of travelling I felt like I needed a night of rest."

"Well I hope it was enjoyable, because we have much work to do this morning," The Emperor honestly informed as moved to stand perpendicular to Nick, one of his paws remaining on his soldier while the other extended out in front of him, motioning to a mammal standing on the first step leading up to the throne.

"But first, may I present to you King Hopps," He warmly introduced, a proud beam on his muzzle. "Lord of the three Burrows and all rabbits of this world."

Nick stepped forward, shaking the Emperor's paw off his shoulder as he extend his own out towards the King. He seemed like a kind mammal as he met his paw with his own, sending him a loving yet intrigued smile as he vigorously shook his paw. Nick carefully studied the regally dressed rabbit that would one day be his father-in-law, making sure to memorize his face so that he'd act appropriately whenever he saw him.

"So you're the fox that I keep hearing about," King Hopps delightedly exclaimed as their pawshake ended. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"And you, my King," Nicholas politely responded, but King Hopps defiantly shook his head.

"I am not your king, Prince Wilde," The rabbit corrected, a polite smile still on his face as he put his arm behind Nick's back and slowly guided him up the stairs leading to the throne. "Now come. Let us briefly talk of my daughter."

"Truly an exquisite mammal," Nick honestly complimented, a smile coming onto his face as he thought about his fiance.

"That's music to my ears," King Hopps replied, glancing up at him out of the corner of his eye with interest. "My son tells me that you both slept together last night."

"We did, King Hopps," Nick confirmed, unsure of how to address the rabbit. A small wave of discomfort and guilt washed over him as the King's ears fell slightly and his gaze became filled with loss and melancholy.

"I'm sorry if I violated my boundaries," Nick awkwardly apologized, but King Hopps shook his head and looked back up at him with a small smile and glossed eyes.

"You have not done anything wrong, my son," The King said as he motioned towards the throne. "I'm just happy to see someone finally connecting with my daughter. Now sit - we have much to discuss."

Nick motionlessly stared at the square, stone throne with wide eyes, not believing or understanding what King Hopps had just ordered him to do. He turned towards the King with a forced smile, but the rabbit unflinchingly returned an expectant one of his own.

"I cannot sit in your throne, King Hopps," Nick told him, an apologetic expression forming on his face. "A prince's place is by the king's side."

"I'm the one decides who sits in my throne, Prince Wilde," King Hopps said as he squatted down to rest in a small, wooden chair on the left side of the throne. "And I've decided that it's necessary to prepare for the time after my death."

"One day you'll be the mammal ruling over both foxes and rabbits," Emperor Canus added as he swiftly walked up the throne's steps and took his place in a larger wooden chair to the throne's right. "You're going to be the ruler that makes our realms one. It's time you stopped letting us old mammals of a time gone by lead our species and started leading them yourself."

Nick stood absolutely still, not daring to make a move towards the throne. He was too stunned to do anything except stare dumbfounded at the Emperor and King Hopps. Here was the fox who all other foxes looked up to - and the rabbit who all other rabbits looked up to - relinquishing their seats at the head of the room to him! What an honor!

But Nick had to remind himself that they weren't doing it out of kindness. He was the mammal who would take both their places when they passed. Ever since his birth father died two decades prior he had done nothing but study and campaign, preparing himself for the day when Emperor Canus enacted his reforms and he would be proclaimed Prince. _Now_ was his chance to field test the skills he had acquired and make a strong and dignified first impression on the lords who would soon pledge their allegiances to him.

The shock ebbed in Nick as he stepped up to the throne and slowly lowered himself into it, strength and chivalry taking over his mind. He couldn't help but smile as he glanced to his sides. On one side there were foxes. His own species. On the other side there were rabbits. A species his species had been fighting for centuries. And now they were in the same room without being at each other's throats. It was a good enough of a start...

"Let us begin," Nick authoritatively shouted as he motioned with one paw for the massive, gate-like doors at the other end of the room to be shut. The general chatter of the room died down as two mailed red foxes pulled the doors closed, and by the time the sound of the doors clicking shut ended their echoing the room was absolute silent. He could feel the eyes of every mammal in the room burning into him, but he sat staunchly, his chin raised high.

"What is the first matter of the morning?" He inquired, his eyes flicking over the gazes of the rabbits crammed onto the benches on, from his reversed perspective, the right side of the room. But his eyes moved off the lords as the sound of metal creaking entered his ears and as Grand Marshal Paratus strode out in front of him, his arms behind his back. The iron-clad fox respectfully bowed his head when he reached the foot of the throne.

"My Prince," He courteously began. "I'd like to bring to your attention the sorry state of the burrow's army."

Out of the corner of his vision Nick saw hundreds of rabbit ears perk at the mention of the military while he himself leaned forward in the throne, curious to see what point the Grand Marshal was going to make.

"Since the tragedy at Mamchester no official army save for loosely organized militias has come to the defense of rabbitkind," The intimidating fox continued. "Over the past few weeks Imperial forces have routed even those soldiers and have begun a full military occupation of the Burrows. In my opinion, this is not how an ally should treat its newfound friend."

"I have to agree," A voice called out from the rabbit-filled benches. "The occupation is not unfolding how it should be."

Nick turned towards the source of the voice and locked eyes with a green and brown-clad rabbit who was no older than he was. At first he was cautious when he stared at the mammal, but his mind became filled with respect when he recognized who the rabbit was.

"Lord Younce," Nick pleasantly greeted, motioning for the rabbit whose life he had spared to come and stand beside Grand Marshal Paratus. "Stand up. What do you have to say?"

Lord Younce stood and hurried to stand beside Grand Marshal Paratus, his arms behind his back and urgency embedded in his movements. Nick heard several rabbits whisper angrily as the rabbit bowed his head towards him before he spoke, but he personally silenced the traitorous voices directed at his colleague with a quick and dignified _shh!_

"My Prince," Lord Younce began, raising his head. "While King Hopps and the nobility view you and your kind as an ally, many of the rabbits living in the burrows see you as a conqueror infringing on their sovereignty. If the occupation continues for any longer, then I don't think It will be possible to maintain peace between our species."

Nick slowly nodded, his ears completely perked up, aware of the problem that Lord Younce was presenting to him.

"So what is your solution to avoid that future?" He inquired, intrigued.

"To begin the merging of vulpine and rabbit forces," The Lord answered, and discussions of interest and concern broke out from both sides of the room at his solution.

Nick stared at Lord Younce, ignoring the noise going on around him as his mind focused in on the problem at hand. He could understand where the rabbit was coming from, but he wasn't certain that his answer was the correct choice given the current political climate of their kingdoms. If a sudden rearming of rabbits occurred he might have open rebellion on his hands. That was the very last thing a prince needed.

Yet Lord Younce had a point. An alliance wasn't one member occupying the other; it was two independent bodies defending each other's land jointly. The longer the occupation continued the less chance there would be at an everlasting peace between rabbits and foxes. But, again, he couldn't just rearm rabbits right and left. There had to be a more peaceful solution!

"Silence!" Emperor Canus authoritatively shouted, ending the various conversations around the room. "The Prince is deciding his course of action!"

Nick didn't spare any thoughts for the Emperor; his mind was almost finished solving the problem at hand. His gaze had fallen to the floor sometime during his thinking, and he moved it upward to stare at Lord Younce as the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"I will allow rabbits to take up arms again," Nick answered, his hard eyes locked with the Lord's amber ones. "But only if their lords pledge their undying allegiance to me."

Whispers erupted all around the room, this time much angrier than before. Nick watched Grand Marshal Paratus turn to stare at Lord Younce, delighted surprise filling his gaze as the rabbit politely bowed his head in acceptance. Nick raised his chin and glanced toward the right side of the room, seeing if any other rabbits accepted his solution. A small number of them were bowing their heads, but most were angrily whispering in the tongue of rabbits and sending murderous glances in his direction.

"What is this, my _King_?" One rabbit in a blue tunic spat as he stood from an especially hostile bench and slowly wandered into the center of the room, his eyes occasionally glancing back to the rabbits he was walking away from. "A _fox_ extorting our species? Turning our great realm into rubble? I will not accept this!"

Two guards standing at the far sides of the throne cautiously walked forward, their paws resting on their sheaths, as the enraged rabbit came to stand on the first step of the throne, his fiery eyes locked with Nick's.

"You are not my _Prince_ , Nicholas," The rabbit growled, and out of the corner of his eye Nick saw King Hopps dart up from his chair.

"Lord Carden, that is eno-" The King authoritatively began, but he was interrupted when Advectius let loose a violent snarl and stormed over from the left side of the room to stare at the rabbit hatefully.

"If he is not your Prince, _rabbit_ , then you are not his subject!" The sechuran fox shouted. "Relieve yourself of your title!"

"Over my corpse!" The brown rabbit spat back, drawing the sword out of his sheath. Advectius, even though he was not a natural fighter, accepted the challenge and drew a short blade from his own sheath.

"So be it," He growled, gripping the hilt of his sword with both paws. The din of noise coming from around the room erupted into shouts of both support and opposition as the two mammal's swords clashed together. Emperor Canus raised out of his chair and the two guards who had come from the sides of the throne ran up to stand by him, but Nick didn't make any move away from the violence only a few steps from him.

One of the rules of chivalry all fair foxes were to follow was to never let hate control their thoughts. But that rule was being tested this very moment. How _dare_ Lord Carden and Advectius raise their arms against one another so quickly. It was treason! He wouldn't tolerate their infighting for even one instant.

With the speed and accuracy of a sun's ray Nick leaped up onto his feet and drew his dagger out of its sheath before he launched it at the swords locked together only a few steps away from him. His weapon hit the locked blades at the perfect spot, knocking them both onto the floor. All the shouts in the room vanished as the swords _clinged_ against the floor, and Lord Carden and Advectius whirled towards him, dumbfounded. Nick sent them both hateful stares, even as he felt all the eyes in the room turning towards him.

"Kits!" He spat, his fiery gaze raking over the two mammals. "You two would so willingly throw away the peace we have worked so hard for? I should have you both tried for treason!"

Nick could see embarrassment welling up in both Lord Carden's and Advectius's faces, and he turned his gaze to scour over both sides of the room.

"I will not stand for conflict!" Nick authoritatively shouted, the hate in him steadily being replaced by solemn resolve. "To those of you that are against peace; leave immediately! To those of you that can overcome the hate between our species; stay."

Nick lowered himself back into the throne without turning away from Lord Carden and Advectius, his paws clutching the seat's armrests. In the corners of his vision he saw shock in King Hopps's face as well as the Emperor's, but the fox's also contained a twinge of awe.

"Now sit down," Nick growled at every mammal in the room, his frown disappearing as a hard glare took its place. "We still have much to discuss."

* * *

 **2017 is fast approaching!**

 **Rewritten 6/23/17**

 **[1]** The end of Finn's statement is in the tongue of foxes ( heavily resembling German). It's translation is _Hurry Up! We don't want to be late!_


	5. Chapter Four

**I'm not going to waste time on the author's note right now. Let's just jump straight into it, shall we?**

 **Here's A Fox in Shining Armor Chapter Four!**

* * *

The air was filled with the pungent smell of beer. The scents of countless other individuals hung with it, but it was the ripe smell of the poisonous drink that had seeped into the stone floor the night prior and that had temporarily caught Judy's attention.

She was idly staring at the ground with a blank expression, her ears pointed towards the massive, wooden and iron-studded doors across the wide hallway while her mind was focusing on every sound coming from behind them.

She didn't know how long she expected the meeting between her father, the Emperor, and Nicholas to last, but now that midday had come and gone the effects of prolonged fretting were beginning to corrupt her thoughts. The lords of the Burrows and the officials of the Empire had been debating for the better part of the day, and while this didn't seem to bother the attendants that would occasionally come and go from the room it was plunging her already uneasy mind further into the depths of apprehension.

 _What if nothing is resolved today?_ She had anxiously thought to herself ever since she had arrived to wait for the meeting to come to a close. _Would the war resume? Would Nicholas and I still be engaged?_

That last question was the one that seemed to echo eternally throughout every crevice of her mind, but when she had tried to answer the question for herself some time prior the two mailed, vulpine guards standing at the door's sides had crossed their spears over the entrance and grumbled at her in a foreign tongue. She despised being kept in the dark, but if her father had taught her anything it was that she knew better than to pick a fight with an armed mammal trained to kill with nothing but her bare paws and limited combat skills. She'd have to wait until the meeting was over to get her answer...

The loud sound of the throne room's doors unlocking for what seemed to be the hundredth time today stirred Judy's eyes away from the floor and towards the massive slabs of wood, and she intently watched the vulpine guards continue to pull the doors open, expecting nothing more than for them to be shut after an attendant departed from the room. But the wider and wider the doors opened the louder the sounds of casual conversation became, and as several regally dressed and fully plated foxes emerged into the hallway Judy perked her ears in interest, stood from the wooden bench she had been sitting on, and determinedly and genteely clasped her paws in front of her. It was finally time to get her answer.

"Excuse me, my lords," She called out as she hurriedly strolled up to stand with the foxes, trying to not look as anxious on the outside as she felt inside. "I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but may I inquire how the assembly went?"

"Very well, my Princess," An old, staunch fox lively answered, sparing a quick and cold glance towards one of his shorter colleagues. "Aside from some complications early on, all went according to schedule. Prince Wilde should be finished in but a moment."

A small wave of relief washed over Judy and she sent the foxes around her a small and relieved smile as she quickly bowed her head towards them, feeling the possibility of entering the room was now reality. Sometimes she just needed to stop being such a worrier and let nature take its course!

 _But what happened if my fears had come true?_ She thought in panic, but she quickly drowned the idea as her gaze raised up from her bow

"Thank you, my lords," She courteously thanked as she sent the foxes a farewelling smile. They all smiled back at her in some form or fashion, and soon she found herself walking away from them and pushing through a massive crowd of rabbits coming from the throne room's interior. She acted as if they were nothing but ghosts, her mind solely focused on making her way to the other side of the tide while she ignored the grunts and grumbles coming from the rabbits as she stepped on their feet or separated them from those they were talking to.

She could've sworn that every lord in the burrows had decided to leave the room at once, because when she finally reached the other side of the horde she was greeted by a place devoid of almost all life.

The only mammals in the room were the vulpine guards, placed at the various stone columns supporting the roof and at the foot of the throne's steps, and a small group of rabbits and foxes standing a few paces into the middle of the floor.

Judy hurried to stand at one of the room's few unguarded columns, so she could monitor the their conversation without disturbing it, and she immediately recognized her father in his red and gold-embroidered doublet and Emperor Canus in his plate armor and simplistic crown standing at the rear of the group, just at the throne's first step. They both had smiles on their faces, and on the Emperor's she even saw what looked to be a twinge of pride.

The remaining members of the small group were five or six rabbits forming a semi-circle around a central figure who she could only assume was Nicholas. The anxiety that had become firmly lodged in her mind only grew as she watched one of the rabbits, who she couldn't quite see the face of, let a paw fall to rest on his sword's handle jutting out of his sheath. She couldn't help but point her ears in the direction of the mammal, her muscles tensing just in case she needed to tackle the rabbit to prevent him from harming her betrothed.

"...training I will lead myself," She heard Nicholas casually concluded as she caught sight of two velvet paws motioning from in-between the lord that was making her uneasy and a brown clad one standing beside him. "But before I do so, I will need the assurance of your loyalty."

"Of course," One of the rabbits responded, and much to Judy's surprise and relief the rabbit who's paw had fallen to rest on the hilt of his sword bowed onto his knees, creating a gap in the semicircle of mammals that partially revealed Nicholas to her.

He didn't look any physically different than from a few hours prior, but his stature was marginally stiffer than it had been and his expression, while respectful, was much less jovial and much more serious. One of his paws was gripping the band of his metallic, black-dyed, stripped leather skirt. He was completely straightened from his legs to his ears, the only part of him relaxed in some way was his tail, which was slowly flicking to and fro just above the floor. His sharp and edgy face made her heart race, but unlike the night prior or this morning it was entirely emotionless; as calm and steady as stone save for a twinge of expectancy visible in his clenched jaw.

The other rabbits quickly followed the first one to bow, revealing the entirety of Nicholas's light armor and lean, well-built body. He didn't seem to react in any drastic way to being the only non-bowing mammal in the half-circle. The only change in his stature Judy noticed was the relaxation of his jaw and the speeding up of the swishing of his tail. His inquisitive gaze began to move around the semicircle, studying every bowing lord intently for several seconds apiece, but when his eyes came to the rabbit that she had fretted over his eyes moved up from the lord's green tunic to stare her from across the room.

Judy straightened her already straight body as much as she could, sucking in her stomach to try and appear as appealing as possible in her stunning grass-green dress she had especially chosen for him. Her heart leaped with joy when he smiled at her attire, his expression relaxing as his emerald eyes traveled north to connect with hers, which sent a spark of affection down her spine and into a fuzzy place. She didn't know what was coming over her, but she suddenly wanted to be with him even more than before.

Luckily Nicholas managed to pick up the urgency growing on her expression, and he hurriedly turned back to look down at the half-circle of bowing lords.

"Rise," He ordered, his voice loud enough for Judy to easily make out over the din of voices that were coming from the hallway. The rabbits around him abided by his command almost instantly, raising up to stand on their bare feet with glowing and respectful expressions on the faces of those that Judy could see. She couldn't hear Nicholas's quieter tone as his gaze swept around the compact group, but once his soft eyes returned to look at her over the lord's ears his voice raised and he pushed through the semicircle to hastily begin to stride towards her.

"If you'll excuse me, my lords," He said in farewell as he quickened his pace towards her, crossing the throne room's massive floor with impressive speed, and Emperor Canus and King Hopps jointly took his place at the head of the group, keeping the attention of the lords away from her.

Judy curved her back and puffed out her chest as she slowly walked away from the column, a warm and welcoming smile forming on her face as she stared at the Prince. He returned the favor in turn by puffing out his already well-defined chest and falling to bow on one knee when they were both only a few feet from one another.

His eyes were closed and his head was bent towards the ground out of respect, as if he wasn't allowed to look up at her face. Judy felt flustered by his show of subservience, and her cheeks flushed with red as she bowed her head towards him, her mind too bewildered to mimic his show of courtesy or to shut her wide eyes in respect. She watched a large, devious grin form on his face as his eyes opened and he turned up to look towards her. She could feel her already rosy cheeks and blood-filled ears reddening further at his stare. He really was quite the charmer - in an embarrassing kind of way.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting for long," He wryly commented, rising up from the floor as his paws clasped behind his back and as he took one more step towards her. "The meeting ran far longer than was expected. I hope this hasn't caused you any trouble, my Princess."

"Not enough to worry about," She lied with a large smile, but her face heated up as Nicholas raised an eyebrow and flicked his eyes up and down her body. He came towards her slowly, as if he were gliding on air, and he gently guided her with his paw as they moved away from the column and towards the throne room's tall open doorway that led out into the now quiet and nigh-deserted hallway.

"Stay close to me," He quietly ordered, his eyes darting towards one of the guards standing at the doorway's side. He nodded at the armed fox as he drew her body closer to his and slid his paw down the opposite side of her body to rest on her hip. Judy widened her eyes at the strong paw gripping her behind and straightened herself, her cheeks becoming a dark shade of red. She wanted to push him away and scold him for touching her like that in public, but a small part of her whispered ' _let it play out'_ as he guided her down a long, empty hallway, the few voices of the room eventually fading and his green eyes refusing to move from a set of heavy, wooden doors at the far end of the corridor.

Judy could feel her heart beating faster and faster, suddenly stressed about what was happening. Where was her fiance taking her? His hard expression and stiff stature didn't reveal the answer, nor did it ease her inquisitive mind in any way. She kept her worries silent as they swiftly strode down the hallway and out the doors at the end of it, emerging out of the tall, stone palace that she called home and into its botanical gardens. The path changed from stone bricks to gravel as they hurried down the steps that led down from the doorway, and as they went further and further away from the palace the less populated the grounds became and the higher and more private the garden's hedges appeared.

Eventually they reached the far corner of the gardens, a place surrounded by huge hedges and partially darkened by the massive, forested hill that towered just beyond the palace's grounds and a place that Judy had barely visited even though she frequented the gardens on a daily basis.

By now Judy could feel her heart beginning to break out of her ribcage, and she felt Nicholas' paw tighten around her waist as they walked through an arched hedge and into a small clearing surrounded by hedges on all sides. The gravel path they were on ended as it circled around an ornate fountain in the middle of the clearing, and she stopped dead in her tracks as Nicholas took his paw off her rear end and walked towards the fountain, sitting down on its edge with both his paws clutching its granite rim. His expression was suddenly filled with life again, and his warm gaze scoured her apprehensive expression and stiff ears. She waited for him to speak first, not finding any courage to ask why he had brought her to such a private location even though there were several explanations she had pondered and several more which stirred her mind into an excited but nervous fit.

"There were too many ears in there," He vaguely noted, nodding towards and flicking his ears at the arched hedge behind her. "I'm sorry if that was an uncomfortable experience, but I needed to get us both as far away as possible from the palace as possible. I fear that for the time being there are still too many hostile mammals from both our species that would try and ruin what progress we've made so far."

"So why bring me here?" She warily and nervously asked, her face continuing to burn with heat and her paws still clutched in front of her groin. Nicholas shrugged at her question, his expression becoming blank as he looked around the small, bright clearing.

"I don't know," He neutrally replied, his voice marginally confused as he turned towards her. "A little romantic, is it not?"

Judy smiled at his answer, the worry that had been building up inside her suddenly dissipated and replaced by butterflies. Why was she such a worrier! As if he was going to hurt her! Her brothers were completely ignorant about the true nature of foxes. Deep down she could see he was gentler than a leaf falling from a tree and more caring than a mother nursing kits, even if his guileful attitude and clearly militaristic mindset attempted to cover it up.

"If you had asked me to follow you I would have, Nicholas," She wittily commented with a casual smile as she slowly walked out of the arched hedge's shadow and into the sunlight bathing the small clearing. Her muscles relaxed as she approached Nicholas, who returned her smile with one of his own, and she let her clutched paws return to her sides and her controlled, ladylike steps turn into much more casual ones that her father would have probably frowned at.

"There was no need to grab my posterior and pull me along!" She lightheartedly scolded as she took a seat on the fountain's edge a few inches away from him, her mischievous eyes burning into his face. "I should relay this discrepancy to the Courts of the Burrow! See what punishment they set forth for you!"

"Given that the only judge in the Court of the Burrow is currently under the influence of the Empire, I'm confident enough to say that my punishment would not be nearly as severe as you'd wish it to be," Nicholas proudly responded, as if he were mocking her species, and Judy scoffed at him as he suggestively winked at her.

"May I ask how the meeting went?" She blithely asked, trying to turn the conversation towards a much more formal destination, and Nicholas's toothy grin became a small smile at the question and he remained silent for several seconds.

"I've thought long and hard about this, my Princess," He thoughtfully began, his eyes becoming distant as they stared off at a random hedge just across the grassy clearing. "But I think I'd like you to come to the next gathering in a few day's time."

"You'd like me to _accompany_ you to the meeting?" She questioned, shocked by his statement, and she leaned away from him with her paw resting on her chest and her ears stiffly erect while he turned towards her with a curious but calm expression.

"I would," He calmly answered, tilting his head as a curious expression came onto his face. "Do politics not interest you much, my Princess?"

"No!" She exclaimed, extending her arms towards him and waving both her paws in denial. She could hear just a twinge of disappointment in her betrothed's voice; a tone that she never liked to hear from _any_ mammal.

"It's just..." She started, trailing off as her eyes fell to idly stare at Nicholas's feet and as her paws fell to rest on her lap and the fountain's rim. "Ladies are meant to manage the household; not administrate a kingdom. I have absolutely no experience in the matter!"

"Then I shall teach you," Nicholas responded, sending her a warm smile as his paw slid along the fountain's edge to grip her paw limply laying on it. Judy jumped in surprise at the strong grip and she turned to stare into the Prince's stunning green eyes.

"I know it is... _unconventional_ for a lady to become involved in the politics of the realm, but if we are to continue the peace our fathers have worked so hard to obtain then we must both be equally aware and informed to the goings-on of what is to be a united kingdom," Nicholas lightly explained, his soft eyes calming the churning thoughts inside of Judy. She couldn't argue against him, but the thought of her suddenly being propelled to stand by his side... she'd never wielded such authority before!

"I suppose," She warily replied, a startled expression still on her face, but a fresh wave of nervousness flooded over her as a new thought popped into her mind, and she leaned in towards Nicholas as her fingers curled around his paw tighter than his were gripping hers. "But what of our fathers? I know that they desire peace, but I daresay that they'll allow me to join you on the thro-"

"Our fathers will not disagree with this decision," Nicholas politely interrupted, stroking her tense paw with the tip of his bushy tail. "I know they both desire peace more than anything, and while King Hopps may take some convincing Emperor Canus will almost certainly be in full support of the idea. In the Empire ladies are not treated just as the managers of households; they are an important part of society! My mother alone administers several keeps within the realm and across the Channel! Of course you and me would jointly administer the kingdom, with the aid of both our father's courts. I understand how this could be overwhelming, and if you have no desire to-"

"No!" She suddenly exclaimed, scooting towards him as her opposite paw darted to grab the same paw already in her clutch, a concerned expression becoming carved into her face. "Nicholas, I will gladly join you. Without a doubt! If we are to have peace, then we need to publicly show that our species are united as one, regardless of the penalties that it may incur!"

"I couldn't agree more, my Princess," Nicholas affectionately said, his voice noticeably slower than hers, and he pulled her into a tight hug. Judy closed her eyes as she was consumed by the heat radiating from his fur and his sun-bathed steel breastplate, and she found herself plunging her cheek into his neck and wrapping her arms around his broad chest. She couldn't help but smile at the warmth, the deep feelings she felt for him further entrenching themselves into her mind. She felt something different for this fox. Something she had never felt for anyone before...

But what in all of the Three Burrows had she just agreed to? To become a queen who meddled in the politics of their species? She'd never heard of a mammal doing _that_ before, even in her fantastical readings!

 _But those mammals don't have him._ She warmly thought as she pressed herself deeper into Nicholas's neck fur. _What we are doing no one has ever attempted before - let alone thought of. What is one more difference in our relationship for the scribes to record?_

"So what must you teach me, Nicholas, if I'm to become politically intelligent?" She curiously asked as she pulled away from their embrace, keeping both of her paws locked with both of his. "I hope the process is not too long and complicated."

"Well, since I only organized it over the course of this morning I can assure you that's it's far less complex than you expect," The Prince wryly responded with a smirk. "Your first lesson - and probably the most complicated one - will be teaching you how to read and write."

"Excuse me?" She rhetorically exclaimed in only partially false outrage, her short claws digging into his velvet pawpads in annoyance as a frown became carved into her face. "I can assure you I know how to read! Write as well!"

"Sorry for my pretensions, my Princess!" Nicholas replied with a humored chuckle, his paws struggling against her grip. "But one must always assume the worst in these kinds of situations! Although it's pleasing to know that your mother has already considerably shortened the time needed for me to teach you the necessary skills to be a leader."

"My mother didn't teach me to read and write," Judy grumbled, the annoyance in her beginning to disperse as solemn memory took its place. "She died of sickness when I was little."

Nicholas's eyes widened in shock and sadness at her revelation, and his ears fell behind his head as his voice became quiet and gentle.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, taking his paws away from hers to respectfully rest in his lap. "I had not the vaguest idea."

"There's no need for apology, Nicholas," She warmly replied with a smile as her paws retreated to rest, clutched, on her green dress. "I have no memories of my mother. My father was the mammal who taught me everything I knew."

"Wait..." She continued, pausing for a moment as a twinge of outrage forced its way onto her face while her ears fell behind her head. "You weren't aware my mother was dead?"

"No, I wasn't," Nicholas honestly answered, seeming surprised at his own response, and Judy jumped to her feet with her paws clenched into fists by her sides, suddenly filled by a murderous rage.

"How much do you know about me?" She pushed, her voice threateningly irate as she tensed her muscles, ready to spring at Nicholas if need be, but her fiance just sent her a nervous smile.

"Your name and your species, my Princess" He confessed, and Judy took a step towards him, her mind further enraged by his answer. How could he bear to treat her like such a lady when he knew so little about her!

"But before you do something you might regret, my Princess, may I ask you the same question?" Nicholas hurriedly inquired as he leaned away from her, his nervous smile growing as he extended one of his arms out towards her in an attempt to halt her advance. Judy stopped dead in her tracks, her frown becoming suspicious as she studied Nicholas's face.

"Of course I know much about you!" She yelled, straightening her reddened ears as she tried to contain her anger from boiling over. "More than you know about me! You have two names: Piberius Caesar and Nicholas Wilde! You were a Marshal in the Empire before you became Prince! You! You... you..."

"Know nothing else about me?" Nicholas rhetorically asked, standing up from the fountain's edge as his paws fell behind his back and as a small grin crawled onto his face. Judy could only look up at him with a frustrated scowl, her face heating up in humiliation and her ears falling behind her head for a second time. He had called her bluff perfectly, and while that made her clench her fists tighter it also made her feel quite empty inside. Here she was with the mammal for whom she felt affection, and fiery affection at that, and of whom she knew nothing aside from his names and titles. That didn't sit well with her for even an instant.

"I propose a friendly game, my Princess," Nicholas playfully pondered aloud, turning and walking away from the fountain and into the middle of the grassy patch on the other side of the gravel path, his eyes cast downward. Judy watched him with interest, letting the raging emotions inside her cool as she crossed her arms across her chest and wandered out to stand at the edge of the grassy clearing.

"Of what sorts?" She warily asked, but before he could respond Nicholas made a triumphant sound and bent over to pick up two straight objects from the short grass.

"Sword fighting," He answered, studying the two long, thin sticks in his paws before he looked back at her and tossed one in her direction. She caught the end of it with an outstretched paw, and she scoured the object with both her eyes. It wasn't a perfect fit for a rabbit, nor did it resemble a rapier in many ways at all. The wood grew thicker towards the end, making it heavy and unwieldy, and the only suitable grip on it was a little higher than where she was used to holding a weapon.

"Have you any experience in combat, my Princess?" The Prince asked as he took off his steel arm braces, his back turned towards her and his own stick clutched under his arm.

"Some," She commented, a feeling of competitiveness rolling over her as she began to swing her stick back and forth with swift, controlled strokes. "My father encouraged me to learn some basic skills from my brothers, who I can assure you did _not_ go easy on me. But it has been years since then."

"Well let us hope that your skills haven't completely faded from memory," Nicholas jovially joked as he tossed his arm braces onto the grass and turned towards her, his fur turned a hazy orange by the bright sunlight. "If you are up to the challenge, one of the things I'd like to teach you over these next few weeks is how to excel in hand-to-hand combat."

Judy stopped slashing and swiping her stick at the air and trained it on Nicholas, carefully making circles around his amused face with a grin that dared him to attack her.

"Consider me your student," She proudly said, her chin raised higher than usual, and Nicholas smirked at her enthusiasm. "Now what are the rules to this game you speak of?"

"Whoever knocks their opponent to the ground first wins the bout," He explained, but he deviously lowered his face, his eyes alight with mischief. "And gets to ask the loser a question of their choosing."

"A question?" Judy quizzically repeated as she raised an eyebrow, and Nicholas nodded.

"About themselves," He elaborated. "So that we may end the misfortune of knowing so little of one another."

"What an interesting strategy," She raptly commented, moving her foot backwards and raising her stick further, ready to be the one that asked the first question. "Shall we begin?"

"Immediately," Nicholas responded, and Judy tensed her muscles, ready to strike the center of his undefended chestplate only a few feet away from her. She darted up to him as quick as lightning and leaped into the air with her arm drawn back, ready to make the quick strike that would win her the first round, but her stick only fell on air. She didn't even see him duck under her, but she did feel the effects as he straightened himself right into her stomach while she was still airborne, causing her to wince with pain and fall to the ground with a groan.

She could only guess how big the bruise forming on her abdomen was, and judging by how hard the Prince had struck her its size would rival the one she had sustained while attempting to leave the palace grounds with the intent of visiting a grove beyond its borders that she had fallen in love with as a kit.

"Cheating varlet!" She painfully grumbled, her eyes opening from being squeezed shut as she lifted herself off her stomach to uncomfortably sit on the ground.

"I did not cheat!" Nicholas quickly rebuked, his paw pressed against his chest and an innocent expression painted onto his face. "This is your first lesson of combat; always use your size to your advantage."

Judy ground her teeth in annoyance at Nicholas, and the subtle anger within her only grew as a small smile came onto his face.

"Now I believe it's time for my question," He commented, gripping his stick in one paw while he walked towards her with his other extended down towards her. "May I know your age, my Princess?"

"Twenty-four," She answered, her voice hard and fiery, and she suppressed a wince of pain as she took his outstretched paw and pulled herself to her feet. Her core would hurt for days...

Nicholas didn't comment on her reply, and she looked up at him after a moment of recovery to see him staring at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Twenty four?" He repeated in a state of shock, and Judy slowly nodded, suddenly consumed by caution.

"How old are you, my Prince?" She guardedly asked, taking a polite step away from him and letting the end of her stick press into the grass.

"Thirty-two," He answered, his voice flat and his eyes wide as they studied every inch of her face. "I've never been with someone so young before..."

Judy stared back at Nicholas wide-eyed, equally as dumbfounded as he was. He was _thirty-two_ years old? That was almost a decade older than her! She had only been a kit when he had been approaching manhood!

"Well I suppose there are stranger marriages," He commented, walking away from her with a shrug, his eyes still opened in revelation. "Such as one between a fox and a rabbit."

Judy gave a dry huff of laughter, her mind still startled by his answer. Her eyes scoured every inch of his face and fur and her mind processed every one of his movements with keen interest. She hadn't the vaguest thought that he was so old compared with her! But looking at his walk, talk, and body she could see how she'd mistaken him for being her age. He acted as if he didn't have a care in the world and as if he was still in the heat of his youth! Regardless of his age, those were ideal traits.

"We can discuss what this will mean for our marriage at a later date," Nicholas announced, spinning towards her with an eager frown and a tempting smile. His left arm was flexed behind his back while his right was extended towards her, his stick pointed directly at her face from halfway across the grassy clearing.

"Lesson two," He began, his ears falling behind his head and his arms tensing. "Never let your mind shift its attention away from your opponent."

* * *

The inn was noisy, crowded, and filled to the brim with the silvers and grays of the palace guards' armor. Every mammal in the joint was drunk out of his mind, all with delusions of grandeur and hoping to land a spot in the flirtatious barmaid's bed. In the corner two hooded foxes remained silent and alert, their eyes prying the crowd as they hunched over their table.

"How much longer until we rid ourselves of this rabble?" One of them grumbled, downing a portion of his cup.

"Hush up!" The other hissed, leaning forwards so his white muzzle was visible from underneath his hood. "No one is to notice our presence. And you are well aware we are to wait until our benefactor arrives."

"Here he comes now," The first fox noted, returning his drink to the table and nodding across the room. Through the waves of armor and fur a single fox was approaching them, inconspicuous among the other patrons aside from the golden rim of his armor that the drunkards around them were too far dazed to notice.

"I trust that the trial went well, my Ser," The ash-colored fox mumbled as the impressive figure took the third chair at the table.

"Very well," The lithe, tall fox confirmed with a grin, placing a brown sack of clinking coins on the table. "Prince Piberius's reaction to the test was enough to confirm my hopes."

"Then you'll be needing these," The white fox said, picking up a small, tin box he had rested on the floor and placing it in front of the newcomer as his other paw grabbed the bagful of gold and silver. "Be careful with these, Ser. Too much and you'll end up murdering someone."

"But when I mix these with the other flowers your colleagues delivered?" The armored fox asked, pulling the case towards him and studying the bright blue items inside with a raised eyebrow.

"If you do so with the correct portions of each, Ser, then your dreams will become reality," The pale fox joked, fancifully waving his hands in the air before downing another gulp of his drink.

"Then our business is concluded," The armored fox finished, snapping the box shut and standing with a bright smile.

"Halosis," He politely farewelled with a bow of his head towards the white fox.

"Pestis," He said in goodbye to the pale fox, turning on his heels.

"I may have need for you yet, if this ordeal fails despite my best efforts," He called out over his shoulder as he strode back into the din of the inn. "Summon Cassis and Famis to Wien once you arrive in the city, and be ready to strike at a moment's notice."

* * *

 **See you end of January!**

 **Rewritten 6/24/17**


	6. Chapter Five

**Well...**

 **Merry (late) Christmas?**

 **Decided to upload this a few days earlier than intended; Chapter Four was, in my opinion, a very underwhelming chapter. Consider this a continuation of that chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"So, if I can recap, my Princess, you are the twenty-four year old daughter of King Steward Hopps and Queen Bonnie Hopps. Your full name is Judith Laverne Hopps, and you spend your free time reading romances, touring the palace grounds, and disobeying your father by sneaking through the palace's catacombs to venture into the forest just beyond its boundaries. You've lived an independent life ever since your father and brothers departed for the war, and now that they've returned you're having disagreements with your brothers over how foxkind should be treated. Your bloodline has ruled over rabbitkind for six generations, but since your mother passed away at such a young age this generation has been the smallest in your lineage's history. I'd like to express my sincere condolences at the loss of eleven of your brothers over the course of the war. On a much lighter note, you've rarely traveled outside of the palace grounds - including to the Central Burrow mere seconds away - and have only spent a single night away from your residence during a marital trip that I can thankfully say ended in failure. The only reason you agreed to marry me was because you trusted your father to make reasonable decisions for you, but now that you've become acquainted with my presence you've decided to wed me on your own volition. Have I missed anything, my Princess?"

"No," Princess Hopps answered between heavy pants, her voice frustrated and her fiery eyes scorching him with subtle hate. "But I'd like to add that you are the most deceiving and disparaging mammal I have ever had the displeasure of knowing."

Nick smirked at her frustration brought on by her failure to topple him. She was on the opposite side of the grassy clearing and covered from head to toe in sweat, turning her emerald green dress that's color tickled his fancy in a mischievous way into a much darker shade. Over the course of the day they'd fought bout after bout, all of which ended with him the victor and her falling to the ground. On occasion a passerby would come, some delivering chalices of water or small morsels of food yet all witnesses of her defeats. Even now in the evening sunlight he was unphased by weariness and ready for the next round of combat, his feet resting in an aggressive stance while his upper body remained relaxed. His stick hung limply from his paw, its end plunging into the short, moist grass sprawling out from below his feet.

Yet the Princess didn't seem to be up for another challenge, even if she wanted one. She slowly raised from her tired squat, her feet carefully matching his stance while her stick was raised in his direction at an angle. Her ears were completely erect while her expression had changed from frustrated to determined in a mere instant, but her muscles were trembling out of sheer exhaustion and her breaths were louder than bolts of lightning. Maybe he had pushed her too hard today.

 _Yet she agreed to train with me, and she has not expressed any desire to stop just yet._ Nick countered in his head, raising an eyebrow and smiling in affectionate suspicion as he studied the Princess's frame. _Whatever she was taught when she was younger is outdated, but she's a quick learner to the fox's way of fighting. Maybe I underestimated her resolve... but she's almost over the edge. Today's training is over._

"Lower your weapon, my Princess," He commanded as he turned away from Princess Hopps and walked a few steps away from her, his eyes focused on the steel armguards he had tossed onto the grass a few hours prior and that were now shimmering in the late afternoon sun. "Today's training is over, and you performed admirably despite your many shortcomings."

Nick bent down to pick up his arm braces once he reached them, casting his long, almost perfectly straight stick onto a patch of grass beside them. He focused his gaze on the two thin pieces of steel as he strapped them onto his forearms, keeping his ears tilted in the direction of the Princess whose breathing hadn't slowed one bit since he told her to ease up.

"Still eager, Carrots?" He mischievously asked as he tightened the armguard's strings and as a cunning smile emerged onto his face. "Because if so, then there's a _different_ field of combat we could test our skills-"

Before he could finish his suggestive suggestion all the air was knocked out of his lungs by an object barreling towards him at high speed. He huffed as he fell forward, landing hard on the grassy ground, his mind suddenly alert and his muscles tensed. He flipped over so that he was facing his attacker, but before he could retaliate a blur of green and grey flew on top of him and a stick became threateningly close to his throat.

"My Prince," Princess Hopps delicately began, her legs straddled over his waist while her left paw gripped his shoulder and her right pushed the stick forcefully against his throat. "It'd be quite unfortunate for you if I heard that nickname used again."

A devious but deadly serious grin was plastered on her face, and as she leaned in towards him, her ears stiffly held behind her head in anger, Nick couldn't help but feel afraid. Not genuinely scared for his life, of course, but there was something that made him very uneasy about being confronted with such fiery passion in such a close proximity.

"Then what should I address you as?" He curiously asked, a nervous grin forming on his muzzle as he tried to contain the panic continuing to build up within him.

"Judith," Princess Hopps answered without hesitation, her face darkening as the setting sun disappeared behind the hedges behind her while her eyes remained visibly bright with fire. "Is that clear?"

"Perfectly, Judith," Nick politely but hastily responded, his nervous smile growing as Judith's eyes pierced through his skull, and he lifted his paw off the grass and reached for the end of her stick still pressing into the bottom of his windpipe. "Now how about we end this bout peacefully-"

Nick backed his head further into the grass as Judith leaned in further towards him, pressing her stick deeper into his throat. His eyes grew wide with apprehension as he let go of her weapon, letting his paw fall back to the grass, and she smiled down at him in triumph.

"You just called this a bout," She commented, leaning in even closer so that her twitching nose and half-lidded gaze were mere inches away from the end of his snout. "And I have just bested you. I believe that entitles me to a question."

"So it does," Nick admitted, smiling at his defeat as he raised himself off the grass to rest on his elbows and as he motioned gleefully towards her. "Ask away, _Mi Amore_."

Judith smiled at his admittance of defeat and raised herself upwards to sit on his groin, her ears completely straightened while her fiery expression slowly turned into a mischievous one. She let her stick fall to the ground beside him and moved both her paws to grip his shoulders and pull herself down towards him.

"What tickles your fancy about me?" She pushed, her voice flared, as she began to press her chest against his. Nick awkwardly grimaced at her question, suddenly consumed by embarrassment and panic. Talking about _that_ was something he tended to avoided in places where others could hear!

"What kind of question is that?" He rhetorically rebuked, trying to delay what he suddenly realized to be the inevitable, as he tried to scoot away from Judith's incoming face. But she denied him escape by pushing his shoulders back down to the ground with her paws, her hips firmly glued to his midsection as her advance towards his face continued with ever increasing speed.

"Answer?" She repeated with mischief, and Nick gulped. Despite his experience this wasn't a situation he could slip out of.

"Your tail is enticing, my lady," He shakily began, feeling his face heating up in embarrassment as he spilled his thoughts and searched his mind for any analogy or metaphor he could recall from the small number of romantic novels he had read in his youth. "It excites me more than a feast would excite a castaway. I never realized I'd ever have feelings for such a rebellious spirit, but you have surprised me yet again. Your ears, your shape, your face, all as unique and strange to me as the universe was to Adam and Eve, yet still just as beautiful. The grace with which you walk and talk and the innocence I can read from your open heart draws me into a feeling of euphoria that reminds me the war I've fought since my youth has finished and that a bright future has opened for me; a future with you."

Nick felt a smile crawl onto his face as the embarrassment within him ceased, and he moved his arms off the grass to curl around Judith's neck and lower back. Her expression was touched, her eyes almost looking sad while her mouth was wide open in shock, as if she had expected him to dodge her question altogether or answer it like he answered almost all other questions - with mischief and security - and not with his genuine feelings.

"You see, Judith," Nick continued, his genuine smile growing as his paws began to pull Judith's face closer to his and as he raised his head off the ground. "There is no mammal more stellar and astounding than you, and as a result there isn't one part of you that doesn't tickle my fancy."

Nick closed his eyes and opened his mouth, plunging his muzzle towards Judith's, who met his at full force. He was suddenly filled head to toe with passion, and he pulled her body closer to his as her soft, damp paws curled around his head and neck. Their tongues wrestled in each other's mouths, and he felt Judith shudder with ecstasy as he gently nibbled at her tongue. He felt a shuddered of his own flow down his spine as Judith pressed her chest and groin up against him, her heat passing through her clothing and his armor to warm his cool fur. He had to suppress the colossal urge to rip his garment off right here and now and satisfy the tingling urge erupting from underneath his leather skirt. Over the course of his raunchy lovelife he had _never_ done anything as passionate or genuine as what he was doing now.

 _There's definitely something in there._ He commented as he listened to his heart pound against his ribs, straining to break free. _Something special. Dare I say that one word?_

Judith suddenly pulled away from their romantic and vivid embrace and Nick shot open his eyes in surprise, keeping his paws firmly locked on her rear, the intimate place they had ventured to during their quasi-lewd grinding. She pushed away from him, her face suddenly alert and her ears completely straightened as she looked over her shoulder and stared at the arched hedge on the other side of the grassy clearing.

"Someone's coming!" She hurriedly whispered as she shook his paws off her behind and swung her legs over him, straightening herself and trying to replace his scent with her own by furiously rubbing her dress with her paws. Nick shot to his feet just as fast as she did, his eyes and ears focused in the direction of the arch. He was about to question her hearing when he finally heard the commotion himself; the unmistakable sounds of approaching feet and panting. With one quick glance he studied himself, making sure he looked and smelled presentable, and when he looked back at the arch there were two armored foxes standing in its shade.

They were both donning the exact same armor set he was wearing, although the red fox on the left side of the arch had a steel combat galea over his head that denoted his low rank. His counterpart was an arctic fox that Nick couldn't put a name to yet he knew he had seen from his campaigns; from one of the battalions he had fought alongside of, to be precise. In fact, the fox had delivered him a soothing flask of water during one of the earlier bouts of the day! He was panting heavily, but his expression was dead serious, and he stepped away from the arch with a quick bow.

"My Prince Piberius," The Captain hastily greeted, straightening himself and keeping his eyes focused on Nick's face, taking no notice of Judith daintily standing a few feet to his side. "Grand Marshal Paratus has called a meeting, and he requested that you be prese-"

Before the fox could finish what he was going to say the wind shifted direction so that instead of blowing the sweaty smells of the two soldiers towards Judith and him it was blowing his and Judith's equally as sweaty scents towards them. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he was focusing on his scent Nick immediately regretted not rubbing off the lewd smell coming from his body that hinted to his and Judith's embrace only a few seconds before. And judging by the Captain's huge eyes, he wished he had attempted to cover it up as well.

"My deepest apologies, my Prince Piberius," He hastily addressed with a deep bow, the bewildered guard standing behind him following suit. "I was blind to your need for privacy. I'll inform Grand Marshal Paratus that you are preoccupied."

"Nonsense!" Nick gleefully exclaimed, trying to keep himself calm and collected as he walked a few steps towards Judith to wrap his arm around her burning side. The Captain looked up at him in confusion, rising from his bow, and Nick sent him a polite smile even though under his fur he felt like he was about to be roast salmon.

"There is no need to apologize, my good Ser," Nick warmly corrected, pulling Judith a little closer to him, and he felt her cheek bunch up in a massive, forced, and awkward smile against his bicep while her paws fell to grip one another over her groin. "Whatever you are implying I can assure you nothing of the sort occurred! You may inform the Grand Marshal that I will be there momentarily."

"I am afraid I must apologize again, my Prince Wilde , because Grand Marshal Paratus informed the garrison to escort you to the command center some time ago, and since we have squandered valuable time seeking you out we must depart immediately," The Captain urgently explained, his expression still calm but his eyes as hard as granite. Nick frowned at the strain in his voice and he let his arm fall away from Judith's side as he took an inquiring step towards him.

"Why can my father not attend?" He inquired, his muscles tensing in ambiguous suspicion.

"He retired to his quarters earlier in the evening, my Prince," The Captain hurriedly answered. "Grand Marshal Paratus did not want to disturb him, and seeing how you're his heir he thought that you should be the one to make a final decision on the emergency at paw."

"Emergency?" Nick sternly repeated, his head tilting slightly as the last of his casual demeanor was replaced with that of action. The Captain brusquely nodded in confirmation.

"I'm afraid I cannot elaborate any more, my Prince Piberius," The Captain continued, politely shrugging with a shake of his head. "I was only informed to fetch you for the Grand Marshal, on the order of Marshal Certus. The situation has deteriorated significantly, and has begun to threaten peace."

"Then let's not keep him waiting any longer," Nick hurriedly responded, his stern frown only growing as he took long strides away from Judith's side and towards the Captain, who only nodded as he and the guard behind him turned and tensed their muscles, ready to begin jogging again.

"I have to cancel our evening, Judith," Nick called out over his shoulder, his voice as cold and hard as frostbitten ice, and he glanced back to look at his betrothed for no longer than a second and with a glare that echoed seriousness. "Maybe I will see you in the morning, but I will make no promises."

Judith raised a paw and took a step towards him, a tiny, almost invisible frown carved into her forehead. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but before she could he hurriedly turned away from her and followed the two soldiers out the arch and into the wide, gravel path. It was as if a flood of seriousness had drowned his need to converse with her. He had no time for petty conversations with his to-be bride; he had a kingdom to manage and, more importantly, a situation to settle. Leaving it unresolved could make any resolution intangible. That would not be a benefit to _peace_.

* * *

"What is the emergency?" Nick loudly growled, a frown still furrowed into his forehead while an overwhelming feeling of power filled every inch of his muscular and armored form. All of the eyes in the long, well-lit room turned towards him, but there was only one fox that dared to raise from his seat and answer him.

"Welcome, Prince Wilde," Grand Marshal Paratus greeted with a smile, and several other foxes raised from their seats and joined him in a polite bow. "I'd like to commend your performance as the head of the assembly earlier in the day. Your projection of power and authority has truly brought us one step closer to securing unity between foxes and rabbits."

"Thank you, Grand Marshal," Nick coldly thanked with a brusque nod as he hastened away from the tall, thin doors at the head of the room and halfway down its length to stand at the direct center of the long, spruce table that was the room's only decor aside from the occupied chairs surrounding it and a small window that looked out over the lively Burrow below the palace walls. "But we don't have time for idle chatter. What is the situation that you require my input to resolve?"

"There has been a rebellion in Moorston," Grand Marshal Paratus nonchalantly explained, leaning towards the table as he moved to stand at Nick's side with his index finger's claw was resting on an obscure marker towards the top of the massive map laid out before them. "Apparently Lord Caer, sovereign of Moorston, has only just realized that the war has ended, and in a bitter rage he renounced King Hopps as his sovereign and has sent word to his retainers to muster his remaining forces. The old fool..."

"Do we know anything about the neighboring lords' loyalty?" Nick questioned as he moved to lean over the map, his arms straddled to either side of it as his eyes moved to the left of the Grand Marshal's claw. "Moorston is only a day's march from Carrbridge and the Folds. Their mines are of critical importance to our foundries if we wish to keep the Empire fed with iron."

"Most of the lords here at the palace seem to have condemned Lord Caer's insubordination," Grand Marshal Paratus answered, shifting on his feet, and Nick's busied mind only vaguely noticed the dozen or so other high ranking foxes in the room raise from their chairs one by one to come and stand around both sides of the map. "As far as our courtiers are aware the rebellion is exclusively in the Moorston region."

"What are their forces numbered?" Nick inquired, his mind hard at work to formulate a strategy to bring the revolt to a swift conclusion, but when Grand Marshal Paratus didn't answer he turned to look into the ageing fox's amber eyes. The Grand Marshal turned his gaze away from him and respectfully nodded towards the small group of foxes who had massed around the other side of the table.

"Before the Battle of Mamchester we estimated twelve thousand, but ever since our victory we project only half that number, my Prince Piberius," Marshal Certus answered from the front of the group, his paw tapping against the table while his wide, almost worried eyes scanned Nick's face.

"And what of our numbers?" Nick extended, slowly blinking at the tall bengal fox.

"No more than six hundred in the region," Marshal Certus downheartedly answered, but he optimistically perked his ears and tilted his head as he leaned forward to motion over the northeastern part of the map. "But if we move our forces from Carrbridge and the Northern Burrow along with our forces in the Folds to supplement our forces already in Moorston then the size of our army would rival theirs, all but ensuring us victory."

"That'd be foolish!" Marshal Fenus exclaimed from the edge of the group as he slammed his small, clenched fist against the table and turned his angry glare towards Marshal Certus's calm yet startled face, the short-tempered fox's massive, tan ears twitching in annoyance. "My Prince Piberius, if we follow Marshal Certus's plan then we risk opening our defensive lines around Moorston in the east, which means that Lord Caer would be free to strike us here in the Central Burrow."

"I must concur with Marshal Fenus, despite his inexperience in the matter of campaign management," Marshal Alsius coolly commented from Nick's side, his piercing blue eyes making the churning thoughts inside Nick's head halt for a brief second. "I suggest we only use our forces currently stationed in Moorston to deal with the rebels."

"But six hundred soldiers can never overpower six thousand," Marshal Citus commented from Nick's other side, behind the Grand Marshal. "There wasn't a margin that large even at the Battle of Bluewold. The odds are just too great for a positive outcome."

The room fell silent as Nick's focused eyes turned back to the map, studying every symbol and name around Moorston. The Marshals were right. They couldn't move any forces away from the Third Army stationed in Carrbridge and the Folds without risking opening a pathway out of the town. There was always the option to dispatch a small force of the several thousand soldiers that made up the Fourth Army currently stationed in the Northern Burrow, but the idea of leaving the de facto capital of the Northern Burrows with only a portion of its garrison did not ease his already troubled mind.

"Who can tell me the names of the Lords surrounding Moorston?" Nick questioned as he raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze upward to sweep over the foxes around him.

"Houses Edgar and Went border Moorston to the south," Marshal Certus respectfully answered, his voice twinged with annoyance as his paw continued to anxiously tap against the table. "While Houses Type, West, and Lawrence border the town in the north. I see no point in continuing this conversation any further, my Prince Piberius. Before your arrival we had already discussed using local Lords as buffers at length, but we have no allied lords in the area who'd be willing to help-"

"Quiet!" Nick sternly growled, his eyes not having left the map since Certus's drawn-out answer. Sometimes the Marshals and their respective superior were as blind to strategy as bats were to sunlight, because after several seconds of deep thinking a plan to resolve the situation and restore peace began to form in his head. But it was even better than that; not only would it bring a swift end to the rebellion, it would also secure the loyalty of countless other Lords who hadn't pledged their allegiance to him today. As it turned out, a decade and a half of near-constant campaigning had made his problem solving skills indispensable.

"You are mistaken, Marshal Certus," Nick politely corrected as he looked up at the apprehended fox with a smile, his voice lacking any of the fire held within it a moment before. "We have an ally willing to aid us in the region. Lord West pledged his allegiance to me today after the meeting."

Nick partially straightened himself, not feeling the need to strain his shoulders anymore by letting his heavy steel armor pull him down towards the table. His smug smile grew as he studied the map from above, and a polite silence took over the room as the eyes of the Marshals and the other militarists turned their focus towards him.

"Send word for Lord West to muster his remaining forces," Nick commanded, pointing at a place on the map just below Moorston. "and tell him to gather them here. In the meantime I want a thousand soldiers from the Fourth Army and a further thousand from the Second Army stationed here in the capital to reinforce the six hundred already in Moorston."

"Is that really a wise conclusion, my Prince Piberius?" An aged voice questioned, and Nick turned to his right to stare at the old face of Admiral Dolosus, a quiet yet resourceful red fox that was the only mammal in the room not wearing body armor, instead donning a simple red, green, and gold embroidered cloak. "Wouldn't draining these urban centers of their garrisons be detrimental to securing peace by making us vulnerable to counterattacks?"

"Counterattacks from where, Admiral Dolosus?" Nick rhetorically asked, a small smile coming onto his face as he straightened himself again and as he turned back to stare down at the map. "From Lord Caer? I think not. I've heard rumors of how his old age and lack of heirs corrupts his actions. He has no will to live and no family to protect. He's little more than a relic from a time gone by, whose only purpose at his ancient age is to continue a fruitless war he's been fighting his entire life. But that does not make him dangerous. He leads an army of tired, weary rabbits who'd rather be at home with their families than on campaign fighting. They are truly no threat to us."

"That is why, in theory, we could dispatch parts of the Fourth, Third, and Second armies to quell the revolt," Nick continued, his gaze moving up from the map to stare at Marshal Certus, who had decided to clench his mouth shut after his disrespectful outburst. "And from a militarist's perspective, that is what should be done. But there is no true military threat to us. That is why we shall use this rebellion as a means to further bring us foxes and rabbits together. If Lord Caer is defeated quickly and soundly by an army of both our species then wouldn't that give lords who have yet to pledge their allegiance to me the impression of a united kingdom?"

"It would, my Prince," Grand Marshal Paratus confirmed as he stared down at the map, his eyes wide with surprise. "I''d like to give you my sincerest apologies on behalf of all of us here tonight for not thinking of this strategy ourselves."

"There is no reason to apologize, my Grand Marshal!" Nick joyfully exclaimed with a laugh, forcefully patting Paratus on his back as he turned away from him and slowly strolled out of the clump of foxes that surrounded the center of the long table. "You and the military bureaucracy simply needed a different perspective to view things from! Years of advising my father has restricted you to view issues from a short-term perspective that focuses on winning battles or campaigns. I am only telling you how it should fit into the greater picture. It is still up to you to plan and win the battle, of course."

"That shan't be a problem, my Prince Piberius," Grand Marshal Paratus responded as Nick continued to walk down the length of the table, his eyes securely focused on the small, arched window at the end of the room. "Marshal Fenus and Marshal Certus will lead the foxes when the time for battle comes. I'll attach to them the finest Field Marshals and the most valiant of our soldiers. Are there any other orders, my Prince Piberius?"

"Our soldiers should kill as few of the rebels as possible," Nick loudly replied as he came to a stop at the isolated window, his eyes focused on the outside world as he rested his arms on the stone windowsill. "They are just as innocent as we are. We'll gain considerable support with lords who have yet to pledge their allegiance if we set those we capture as prisoners free. But Lord Caer does not share this privilege; imprison him and bring him and his household here. They have much to answer for."

"It shall be done, my Prince Piberius," Grand Marshal Paratus respectfully and hurriedly replied, and a small smile formed on Nick's otherwise stern face as he imagined the old fox bowing his head towards him. "Send word to Lord West to join us. And you, attendant, send word to the Second Army's headquarters that their Field Marshals are needed here as well."

Nick stopped paying attention to the other foxes in the room when he heard them dissipate away from the map, their single discussion fragmenting into various ones about supplies and the order of the upcoming battle. He instead turned his focus to the outside world, and he couldn't help but feel powerful as he stared down at it.

The high walls surrounding the palace looked woefully small from the command room, built on the palace's highest level. The Central Burrow just below the palace's defensive hill and walls sprawled out northward, almost all of it built around the wide and straight River Rhine than ran around the palace's foundations. It was the lifeblood of both the Empire and the Three Burrows.

Nick caught sight of a small fleet of galleys docking at the Burrow's port, and he smiled when he saw the banner of his father, little more than a square field of orange with a thin strip of black followed by a large strip of white, flying atop the ships' unused masts. He was almost certain they were the first of many vessels from the Imperial Fleet that was usually stationed in Wien but ever since the siege of the city had operated out of Foxtock far to the south. With them came fresh supplies, weapons, and soldiers.

"My deepest apologies, my Prince Piberius," A formal voice interrupted, drawing his gaze away from the water and to the respectful expression of Marshal Certus who had appeared beside him, two barely-filled cups of a dark liquid in his paws. "My actions this evening have been entirely improper and rude. May I offer you a glass of my own Beardeaux wine as an apology?"

"You may," He gleefully permitted, taking the small tin cup from the Marshal's outstretched paw.

"For the peace and security of our newfound alliance," The short fox toasted, raising his glass.

"Yes, for peace," Nick repeated, downing the stinging drink in a single gulp in unison with the Marshal. Its crisp, light taste made him shiver, as if a darkness had passed over his essence.

"I may need to commandeer that bottle of yours," He gruffly joked, grinning as he returned the cup to the Marshal's grip. The lithe fox only smiled at him as he began to turn back to the rest of the room.

"I shall keep it in my suite, ready for your tongue, my Prince Piberius," He assured, and Nick chuckled as his eyes returned to the outside world. _Piberius_. He liked that name, he decided, while he lifted his gaze up from the port to stare beyond the burrow's walls and admire the equally massive camp beyond it.

 _The Second Army._ He proudly thought, his smile growing as pride began to radiate out of him. It was the army he had commanded for most of his life. He had been through thick and thin with its soldiers and officers, and it was there that he had first been introduced to Finn - or as he was now called Marshal Fenus - the mammal now in charge of the Second Army and who had become a fair acquaintance of his. Yet he wasn't disturbed by the fact that a mammal in the very same room as him had taken control of his army. He could command Fenus, so in a way he was still in control of his lifelong love.

 _And I, Prince Piberius Caesar, have control over_ all _the other Marshals as well._ He silently added, his fists beginning to clench as fiery power burst from his chest and as a frown crawled onto his face. _Eighty_ _thousand soldiers to command as I wish and hundreds of thousands of subjects to protect. All of this - the peace, the Empire, the Burrows - relies on me to keep it safe. I cannot dally in trivial affairs anymore. I am a Prince, but it is time I acted like the Emperor and King I shall one day be!_

Nick passionately smiled at his resolution, his eyes moving to scan the palace's walls for soldiers. He couldn't become distracted by anything anymore. He had a realm to manage.

Yet that still didn't make him see the fact that he had already abandoned the Princess but a day after their introduction.

* * *

 **That's not good...**

 **Rewritten 6/25**


	7. Chapter Six

**Well well well. This took forever to format and write - and JESUS, LOOK AT THE WORD COUNT! 9500 WORDS! Sheesh...**

 **But, after an extra two weeks of work, I am proud to present the [UNEDITED] version of A Fox in Shining Armor, Chapter 6.**

 **I am very sorry for the long wait, but am proud enough with the finished product to release it to the world. I would like to add that with upcoming medical treatments I will have ample time to edit and buff this chapter, but enjoy it as it is for the moment.**

 **Well, let's not keep you waiting any longer!**

* * *

Judy watched the sparring matches from the empty comfort of the shade. Above her stiff, straightened ears was a stone arch, one of many that lined each side of the bright, open courtyard where upwards of three dozen rabbits were attentively dueling in pairs. The monotonous sounds of metal striking against metal seemed endless to her wary mind, and she let her sore ears fall behind her back as her eyes traveled across the courtyard to rest on the fox leaning on the bricks of the arch opposite her.

"My Prince Piberius," She began with forced courtesy, her paws clutching in front of her lapis-blue dress while her ears flinched in pain at the sharp sounds coming from the bouts. "How much longer shall the lords' sons practice for? The sun has already begun its decent behind the hills."

"They shall practice until they can grasp the concept of parrying," The Prince replied, his voice as cold and hard as his steel armor safely out of the sun's harsh rays. His eyes were scouring every move of the rabbits in the courtyard's center, with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he were annoyed by their, what she perceived to be decent, performance. His stature echoed strength and solitude, and as she studied his still yet sharp expression with careful interest she couldn't help but feel a pang of heat pass into her chest.

But the feeling did not last. Over the week since she and the Prince had first been introduced their relationship had decayed from being heated and romantic to cold and formal. The first sign of deterioration had come only the day after they had met, when the Prince had taken her to the furthest reaches of the Palace's gardens for a lesson in combat. He had promised her there that she wouldn't be some token or trophy to add to his mantle, and for a moment all seemed well. Yet when a guard and a captain had interrupted a... _private moment_ they had been sharing with news of a rebellion in Moorston he had taken flight without informing her of the true nature of the matter.

She hadn't been annoyed then, but now that a week had passed where she had been forced to do nothing save for read books on the histories and customs of the Empire and practice swordfighting with her rapier in her own quarters she was nigh-irate. She barely saw the Prince anymore, and nearly all the times she had he had treated her as he was doing so now. Only in rare instances did his intimacy return.

Yet the Prince didn't seem to care about that now. Something inside him had twisted and corrupted his demeanor, and with his friendliness towards her gone her feelings of affection were slowly beginning to ebb. His dual-personality was slowly getting on her nerve...

"I think I will depart, my Prince Piberius," She politely yet emotionlessly informed, bowing to her knees as she lowered her heads towards her fiance. "My time would be better spent elsewhere."

The Prince's only response to her farewell was a grumble and a curt nod, more concerned with taking a small sip from his glass of wine he kept in his grasp that a polite captain had presented to him at the start of the long day. He didn't even spare a glance towards her, and as she raised from her bow and turned away from him she could feel her jaw grinding against itself in annoyance and her heart swell in sorrow. Yet she didn't speak up.

Instead she brusquely made her way around the outside of the courtyard, trying to spend as much time in the warmth of the sun as she could while simultaneously piloting herself to her quarters. Her entire body was stiff and straight, just like the Prince had ordered her to be, but she was quietly seething with anger underneath her thin fur the more she thought about him.

How _dare_ he treat her like some mere maiden? She was the Princess of the Burrows! The heir to the throne of her father and mother!

But as she turned down a corner, leading her down a half-open hallway with a wide, green field to her right, she found that a small sense of doubt had embedded itself into her mind. She was in a far more precarious position than she had been mere days - maybe even hours - before.

 _Does he feel anything for me?_ She silently asked herself, her eyes falling towards the floor as she strode passed two talking lords walking the direction she had come from. Her already quick heartbeat sped up even more at the question. _I'm positive he does. But ever since the rebellion..._

Judy gulped as she turned around another corner so that the bottom half of her dress was in the sunlight, and she felt her heart plunge into an ocean of despair and fright as shadows consumed her.

 _No, I'm not positive he does._ She thought, her clutched paws beginning to become damp with sweat. _He's not the mammal I knew only a few days ago. He's so concerned about the military and politics that he's left me behind! Even though he goes against his own words! It's as if something has taken control of him. But that is impossible! Intangible! Surely he is conscious that he is treating me like this! It all started when he began requesting that he be referred to as Piberius instead of Wilde..._

Before she even had a moment to process the powerful emotions welling up inside of her Judy turned down a corner that led out of the sunlight and into the Palace's interior and almost collided with a group of mammals approaching from the opposite direction. She jumped back from the several rabbits and foxes with wide eyes, her mind suddenly alerted and her muscles tensed. But when she saw who was leading the small group the anxiety within her dissipated, and she recollected herself and hurriedly bowed.

"Sorry, my lords," She earnestly and swiftly apologized, her heart still beating out of her compact chest while her eyes traveled across the group, eventually resting on her father's friendly gaze. "My ignorance has delayed your progress. Let me move out of your way."

"Judith, when did you learn to be so ladylike?" King Hopps warmly inquired, a happy yet curious grin on his face, and Judy raised herself from her bow as a small feeling of rage reentered her chest.

"Prince Piberius wished me to be more so, among other things," She respectfully replied, her paws angrily pulling at one another as they hung against her core, and the King raised an eyebrow in cautious suspicion. He studied her body carefully, as if he was searching for anything amiss, and for a moment her mind urged her to bring up the Prince's drastic change. But she remained quiet and smiled, and eventually her father shook his head and took a step to his side.

"So he goes by that name now," He whispered, his voice barely audible even to her sensitive hearing, and he turned to place a paw on the shoulder of a stout, brown and tan fox standing beside him whose only attire was a long skirt and that Judy hadn't payed any attention to until now. "That is none of my business."

"Judith, I would like to introduce you to Ambassador Dhani, diplomat and minister of the Empire's domains in the Bay of Benmaul," King Hopps introduced, and Judy felt her beam grow and she respectfully bowed her head at the short, large-eared fox who in turn performed the same courtesy.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my Lord," She politely greeted as both she and the jewelry-covered fox rose from their respective bows, and the middle-aged fox sent her a bright grimace.

"And you," He replied with a heavy accent. "Prince Piberius is highly lucky to marry a mammal of your beauty."

 _If only he treated me as such..._ She begrudgingly retorted, but she suppressed the feeling of anger and instead smiled even wider in a show of genuine thanks.

"May I ask what brings you to the Burrows?" She nonchalantly yet respectfully inquired, and Ambassador Dhani politely nodded as the long, gold and silver jewel encrusted necklaces hanging onto his bare chest rattled at his movement.

"I must admit, my intent was to destroy your Kingdom," He casually answered with an apologetic smile, and King Hopps chuckled at him while Judy widened her gaze and stiffened her ears, intrigued and worried by his answer.

"It is a two month trip from Sagar-Vipicus to the Empire's holdings in the Camhara, if the wind is with one, and from there it is another month to Wien itself," Ambassador Dhani explained, his long tail slowly moving back and forth, ruffling his long skirt. "When word reached my ears that Emperor Canus was launching a 'final' campaign I was inclined to aid him. With me I brought my finest soldiers-"

The short fox motioned towards the armed, short foxes standing at attention behind him and the King, and Judy briefly glanced at them, keeping her ears focused on the Ambassador.

"-with the intent of accompanying his forces on the campaign. But, at my arrival I discovered that the Battle of Mamchester had already passed, and the burrows were under the control of the Empire. To say the least I was surprised by the Emperor's course of actions, but I stand by his decision. I harbor no ill will for your kind."

"That is good to hear," King Hopps justly commented, and Judy nodded in agreement as a grin found its way onto her face again. What a polite fox this ambassador was!

"Pirate sheep are more my enemy than any rabbit," Ambassador Dhani continued with a heavy exhale, and he paused for a moment his eyes fell to the floor as if he was being plagued by a difficult decision. "But that is no matter. I have already spoken with the Emperor regarding the politics of the day."

"We're seeking the council of your betrothed," King Hopps added, turning his gaze towards hers. "Tell me, is he still in the Redford courtyard?"

"He is," Judy stiffly answered, a forced smile still on her face as her arms and ears became tensed and as a fresh feeling of annoyance and anger passed into her body. She had _no_ desire to talk about the Prince anytime soon.

"Then that is where we are headed," King Hopps replied, turning towards Ambassador Dhani with an amicable gaze, and the short fox sent him a big nod as his paws fell behind his back.

"I have much to discuss with the Prince," The Ambassador revealed, his eager gaze travelling back to look at Judy, and she forced her forced grimace to expand across her face. "Care to accompany us, Princess Hopps?"

"If you wish it, my Lord," Judy answered with a quick, polite bow, and Ambassador Dhani sent her a respectfully radiant smile. She stepped out of the fox's way as her father guided him around her with an outstretched paw, and the short, iron-covered guards followed closely at their heels, ignoring her completely. That was probably for the best, because as soon as the foxes passed her a disgusted and begrudging expression came onto her face and her ears limply collapsed behind her in dread as she rolled her eyes. Her entire attitude had turned tired and angry, and she followed the delegation where her father and Ambassador Dhani were now deep in lighthearted conversation from a respectable distance.

She didn't have any more patience for her fiance. She could still hardly believe how he was treating her like some second class citizen! She was far more than that! They were meant to be together, brought together by the will of fate, yet he was too obsessed with everything else now to harbor any interested in her!

Judy could feel her brow beginning to twitch in annoyance, and in a moment of self-repair she straightened her hunched back and forced the aggrieved expression off her face as she turned a corner with the group in front of her. The refreshing warmth of the sun was on her face again, and she peacefully closed her eyes as she took a deep, soothing breath.

She wouldn't let herself become some angry maiden incessantly complaining about how she was being treated. Had her mother been alive during her childhood maybe she would've been more ladylike in character, but being the only female among a dozen male siblings being raised by a king during a time of war had molded her into the mammal she was now. There was no changing that, no matter how the Prince treated her. She just needed to alert him to the fact that she wasn't his to pack away as he wished. Yet that objective, as it now occurred to her, was going to be far more difficult to achieve than it had initially seemed.

The unmistakably sharp sounds of dueling that had previously echoed down every corridor around the courtyard had become completely silent by the time she and the delegation reached the edge of the open plaza. The short guards at the rear of the group parted to let her through as her father and Ambassador Dhani came to a stop between two columns at the edge of the courtyard. She stood just behind the Ambassador, keeping herself a respectful distance from him yet shuffling towards the long steps leading down into the space's center so that her infatuated gaze could easily pick out the details in the scene unfolding before them.

All the rabbits previously practicing with one another had formed themselves into neat lines, all of them facing towards the Prince, who was standing at the front of the group. He was barking orders in the tongue of foxes, a frown on his face and his tail twitching just underneath his paws clasped behind his back. He looked deadly serious, and Judy watched him along with the faces in the crowd before him with careful interest, unsure as to what he was doing.

"You will take your orders from your new Marshals!" The Prince eventually barked without turning his gaze away from the stiff and organized rabbits, pointing towards a group of foxes who had walked over from the edge of the courtyard to stand at the rear of the lines. They were some of the mammals Judy had seen before who accompanied the Prince whenever he abandoned her for ' _state_ _affairs_ '. Her opinions for some them were already below satisfactory, especially that bengal fox with the gold-rimmed armor who always seemed to have a drink handy...

"They know the laws of combat and strategy," The Prince continued, his voice stern but less forceful. "Each line has been assigned to a Marshal who will teach each and every one of you the tactics used to turn the tide of the war out forefathers fought so hard in. From this moment on, the Forces of the Burrows will be just as organized as those of the Empire! The assimilation of our species has begun! Now move!"

All the rabbits moved at once, turning in perfect unison and walking towards the Marshals who had perked their ears in pride. The iron and steel plated foxes had straightened themselves to look as dignified as possible as they could with their ceremonial helmets held underneath their arms, and for the most part the mass of young rabbits moving away from her seemed eager to learn from them. In the crowd she managed to catch a few disgruntled gazes, but two familiar sets of eyes locked onto hers through the heads and ears of the dozens of rabbits, and she instantly recognized the infuriated sight as those of her brothers.

"Astounding, isn't he?" King Hopps asked as he leaned over to whisper into Ambassador Dhani's ear, and the short fox nodded. Judy let her eyes wander towards the Prince, and for a brief moment she agreed with them. He was staunch and passionate, just like a future Emperor and King, and the orange fur poking through the gaps of his steel armor seemed to radiate with the intensity of the sun beating down on it. If only he was as kind as he was tireless and physically flawless...

"Truly," Ambassador Dhani replied aloud, and he leaned towards her straightened ear without taking his eyes off the Prince, whose green gaze was circling the courtyard, with his voice on a quieter level. "You must be very proud to eventually wed him, my Princess."

"I am," She dryly responded, her chest and shoulders tightening as her teeth ground against one another. The Prince didn't seem to notice her or the Ambassador's presence, but when King Hopps took a step out into the courtyard and the guards around its edge closely followed him his piercing face and eyes spun in their direction, and a polite expression took hold of his face.

"King Hopps," The Prince greeted, surprised, and he wandered over from the center of the courtyard to stand just in front of the red and gold coated rabbit. "I was not expecting to acquaint myself with you today. How may I serve you?"

"You cannot serve me, Prince Piberius," King Hopps explained with a smile, raising an open paw towards her and Ambassador Dhani who still had not left the shade of the arches. "I was simply engaging in chatter with Ambassador Dhani, diplomat and minister of the Empire's lands around the Bay of Benmaul."

"Ambassador," Prince Piberius respectfully called out to the short fox with a welcoming nod as he slowly strode away from King Hopps and towards the column where he was standing, and the Ambassador took a step out of the shade and into the bright sunlight to meet him halfway. "What brings you to the Burrows? I trust all is fair in Sagar-Vipicus?"

"As always, my Prince," Ambassador Dhani replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep bow. Judy watched as her father smiled in pride at the Prince's grateful expression, and he slowly turned away from the two foxes with his paws behind his back and began to walk towards the mass of lords at the other end of the courtyard. The rabbit guards followed him while the short, armed foxes at the column's base moved past her to stand around the Prince and the Ambassador.

She watched them surround the two foxes just as the Ambassador rose from his bow, and a small feeling of apprehension pushed its way into her mind as the two began to speak. Her entire body became tense as she watched the two converse, her ears deaf and her eyes blind as her mind processed a hundred different scenarios of how this situation would unfold. Should she remain at the edge of the courtyard like any other lady would do, or should she move in and force her way into their conversation, reasserting herself as the princess whose power was on par with that of the Prince's?

 _I think the answer is beyond obvious, Judith._ She forcefully told herself, and a forced smile came onto her face as she rolled her shoulders and hopped down the three steps down into the courtyard's center. Her blue dress dazzled in the light, and she could feel the eyes of several mammals - both foxes and rabbits - turn towards her. But the Prince was looking firmly away, and new feelings of determination and anger welled up inside her heavy heart.

"Alas, by the time I arrived, the war was-" Ambassador Dhani explained to the Prince, who appeared intrigued by the story, but he cut his words shut as his eyes connected with hers, and a fresh expression of pleasure came onto his face as he raised out a welcoming paw towards her. "Ah, Princess Hopps, I was beginning to think that you had retreated from the courtyard!"

"I am not that easily deterred, Ambassador," She jovially yet sarcastically greeted, and she felt the Prince's burning gaze finally turn to stare at her face.

"Princess Hopps," He greeted, his expression full of flat surprise, and she turned to train her eyes on him, trying to appear as strong as she could with her bright blue dress and straight, powerful stature. "I thought you had retired for the afternoon."

"I did," She acknowledged with a small nod, her voice full of forced courtesy and tainted with nigh-silent rage, as she kept her flaming, piercing eyes locked with the emeralds burning back at her. "But by a chance encounter I have returned. Ambassador Dhani has invited me to join your discussion."

"Has he, now?" The Prince asked, the tone of his voice a blatant mimic of hers, and his jaw visibly tightened and his ear twitched in annoyance as he turned towards the still-smiling fox. "Ambassador, I am unaware of the culture in Sagar-Vipicus. Tell me, are princesses frequently allowed to join discussions meant for marshals and soldiers?"

"Well, no," Ambassador Dhani answered, his flustered eyes cutting between The Prince's and Judy's. "But-"

"I would like to remind you, my Sweetheart, that I am no mere princess," Judy pragmatically interrupted, the fire inside her pouring out into the open as her polite smile became secretly spiteful and as her nose began to twitch. "I am the heir to the throne of the Burrow's Queenship and to the Empire's Empress-ship as much as you are to your titles. And if memory remains faithful to me, are not vixens treated at a higher standard in the Empire? Your mother is the Minister of Todderheim, is she not?"

"How do you know of that, my Princess?" The Prince forcefully asked, clearly angered by her pragmatism, and he leaned in towards her. She leaned towards him, meeting his rage with her own, and the tension between their bodies was so intense that she swore the Ambassador would soon see broiling sparks fly out of the both of them.

"I have been studying and practicing while you have been _dealing_ with the affairs of the realm you hide me from so frequently," She informed, her sense of honor the only force keeping the civility in her voice from turning into rage, and a deviously rude smile crawled onto her face as her paws tightened around one another. "There is not much that slips past my intrusive ears and steady paws."

"Really?" The Prince doubtfully asked, straightening himself as his eyes became half-squinted in suspicion, and Judy watched his quietly furious gaze scour her equally furious yet victorious face. For several seconds the entire world was silent. It was just the two of them, silently and motionlessly dueling each other in a battle of wits, and she had the upper paw. If he scolded her here, in full view of her father and the Marshals, then his reputation would be forever tarnished. If he believed her, or at the very least didn't wish to taint his honor, then his only option would be to invite her to the Empire's court or the next meeting with the Marshals. Whatever his decision, she would be the victor.

"Would you care to join me and the Ambassador on an inspection of his forces?" The Prince asked after what seemed like an eternity, his eyes now more burning than ever, and Judy widened her smile as she read the unmistakable signs of submission on his face.

"I would, my Prince," She politely yet triumphantly answered, and the Prince sent her a single, curt nod as he turned towards the bewildered fox beside them.

"Perfect," He almost spat at her in disgust, and even more anger welled up in her chest. "We shall leave at sunset. Meet us at the West Gate. Now, Ambassador Dhani, we have much to discuss."

"As we do," The short fox agreed with a nod, his expression still shocked by the heated exchange that had just occurred before him, and as the Prince guided him away from her with an arm around his shoulder his startled eyes connected with hers in the moment before he turned his attention back to the Prince.

Judy turned away in the same instant that they did, and her winning expression only grew as she caught sight of several bewildered stares coming from many of the mammals around the square. She ignored them for the time being, feeling more successful than embarrassed, but it only now occurred to her that she and the Prince had drawn the attention of almost every mammal in the courtyard to their conversation.

But as she stepped up the steps at the edge of the plaza and made her way down a shady, empty hallway leading away from the clearing she realized none of that mattered. She had forced her way into the Prince's life, and with so many witnesses abound he would have to maintain their close relations.

With all her heart she didn't hate him. Even as she pictured his sharp, fiery face now she could only feel affection. She was infuriated by him, yet she felt something for him underneath all of his newfound focus and passion directed towards, what he had told her, peace. Even over the past week they had occasionally shared a close moment, when she hadn't been too restrained by formalities and he had been especially open. It was then that her judgement became clouded by affection and confusion.

Yet whenever these precious memories occurred they were swiftly shattered by an intruding Marshal or Captain or someone or another. It was in those disturbances where his liveliness fell, as if he had drunk a tonic that made him do so.

But this inspection of Dhani's soldiers - despite its minimal importance - was her full reemergence into his life. She had made it out of the frying pan, and into the ashes of the fire.

* * *

By the time Judy departed her quarters for the Palace's West Gate, easily visible from her suite's balcony, the sun had almost disappeared behind the high hills bordering the palace's gardens. The last of its dying rays illuminated the grassy field to her side and the stone path she was walking on like an ember illuminated a pile of charred logs.

On her chest was a tight steel cuirass that had belonged to her brother, Prince Kyle, before he had fallen in battle while on her face was an equally as tough expression. Her left paw was gently swaying with her blue dress cascading like a waterfall in the gentle breeze while her right was gripping the handle of her sheathed rapier safely hanging on the same side of her hip.

Her mind was all but blank, her unseeing eyes picking out only the shock on lords' faces as she strode past them and furthered her advance towards the West Gate. As she rounded one of the palace's many corner towers the very same guarded stone arch that led down the defensive hill and into the Burrow beyond came into view, and her gaze turned towards it as she sped up her pace, not wanting to keep the Prince waiting for any longer than needed.

Despite the way he had treated her and the annoyance she felt whenever she thought of him she did not feel entirely pleased in the manner which she had treated him in the courtyard. Looking back on those heated moments in front of the King and Marshals it now occurred to her that she had been unflinchingly tough on him. If he had allowed her to accompany him and the Ambassador in the end then surely there could have been a less chaotic way to achieve the same results.

The West Gate was completely devoid of mammals save for two vulpine guards on each side of the massive stone arch. They both glanced at her with a strange expression as she strode past them, but she kept her eyes focused straight ahead as her ears searched for the sounds of the Prince and the guards with him.

As she emerged from the gate massive gate she briefly turned around and stared up at the structure, a contented smile coming onto her face. This was to be the first time in her entire life she'd travel into the Burrow without her father. Even from here a gentle din rose from the mass of thatched and wooden buildings only a short walk away, and she was almost entranced to go towards it on her own.

Yet she contained her excitement and turned away from the gate, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead as she walked to the end of the stone brick path and stared down the hundred steps that led down into the city, searching for the Prince with all her senses.

There wasn't a single mammal either on the steps or at the bottom of the hill.

All the eagerness within her was shattered like a pane of glass dropped from a balcony, and she frantically spun around on the balls of her feet and looked back towards the gate with a confused frown.

 _I am at the West Gate, correct?_ She hastily thought to herself as she swiftly hurried back towards the structure, stopping when she spotted the familiar sight of her balcony jutting out from the palace's smooth stone surface from in-between the short spikes pointing down from the retracted iron gate itself. _And it is sunset?_

Judy spun on the balls of her feet again, looking outwards towards the forested hills bordering the burrow, and was immediately blinded by dark orange sunlight.

 _Of course it is!_ She yelled to herself, the apprehension inside her beginning to transform into boiling rage. _So where_ is _Prince Piberius? Has he forgotten of this? I sincerely doubt so! Has he been held back by the Ambassador? He hasn't left without... Oh no._

A much more pessimistic thought pushed its way into the forefront of her mind, and she threw herself back towards the gate as her blood began to boil.

"Excuse me, my good foxes," She formally called out to the guards standing at attention in the interior of the arched gate, her paws clenched in anger while she attempted to control the rage welling up behind her stern expression with mixed success. The two guards turned their unsure and nervous faces towards her, their eyes darting back to one another periodically as if they were too cautious to stare at her directly.

"Has the Prince passed through this gate today?" She inquired with broiling malice, and the guards remained silent for several seconds.

"Just once, if memory serves me correct," One of them eventually answered, shifting on his feet as his halberd's shaft dug into the grass.

"Not half an hour ago," The other fox elaborated, his eyes darting back to his counterpart's. Judy seethed with silent resentment at the foxes' answers for only half an instant before she flew off the stone bricks at the edge of the stairwell and bounded down the steps at the speed of a gale.

 _How_ dare _he leave without me!_ She internally shouted, a vicious snarl forming on her face as her eyes focused on the massive camp across the river and traced a path through the thatched and wooden roofs of the Burrow towards it. _The most chivalrous mammal on this side of the River Rhine my tail! He's as alive as the dead!_

Her ears, tightly tucked against the back of her dress, only vaguely picked up the shouts coming from behind her, undoubtedly from the guards at the gate urging her to return, but the rage inside her shut them out. She needed to scold the Prince _immediately_ , although even she wasn't sure what she was going to do to him. Regardless, he needed a harsh reprimand.

By the time Judy reached the bottom of the steps the guards' voices had disappeared, and she threw herself into the everyday chaos taking place in the massive stone square. There were throngs of rabbits, and on rare occasions a fox, in every direction. Some were well dressed while others looked as poor as the earth they farmed, but all were carrying goods or crops and other commodities. Stalls lined every side of the plaza, most of which were packing up and loading their selections onto carts while customers scrambled to buy what limited goods remained.

Judy ignored everything happening around her, and little by little she made her way through the crowds of rabbits. She ducked under wooden beams being carried by an older, scruffy buck, agilely darted around an incoming wagon being pulled by a large family of farmers from outside the city and packed to its brim with seeds, and passed around a small group of priests speaking in the native tongue of rabbits, all while maintaining her rapid pace and vexed expression.

In the exact center of the square was a low, circular stone platform that jutted up from the bricks like a tree stump. Standing on it were a half-dozen foxes, all carefully monitoring the events going on all around them. Judy pushed her way through to them with a stern, steady frown, and as the thick crowd thinned out around the place a guard caught sight of her.

She saw the young red fox's blank gaze study her through his helmet's visor for several seconds, but when she didn't slow her pace or calm her furious expression he turned away from her and shouted something to a fox behind him. She was mere feet away from the steel-covered soldier when he drew his sword and pointed it at her in a defensive stance, and she jumped back from the weapon with a shocked expression plastered onto her face. But as soon as her heart stopped dead in its swift tracks the sword pointing towards her fell to the ground as another fox came whirling up from behind the guard and knocked the blade to the ground with his own.

The eerily familiar arctic fox angrily whispered to the stunned guard in the tongue of foxes, who in turn nodded profusely and picked up his blade from the ground. None of the rabbits around the platform seemed to notice the ordeal that had just unfolded, but all their vulpine colleagues were staring at the unhelmeted captain with interest, who turned towards her with a worried and stern expression.

"Princess Hopps, what are you doing here?" He urgently asked, taking a step down from the platform, and Judy walked up to meet him as anger once again welled up inside her.

"Has the Prince passed through this way recently?" She coldly asked, keeping herself as straight as possible while her stiff ears hung behind her back. The Captain looked confused by her question, but he hurriedly nodded in answer.

"Yes, he has," He quickly answered as he hastily scanned the mass of rabbits around them, his steel armor reflecting the last light of the nigh-set sun. Judy nodded in understanding, and she turned away from him and bolted off back into the crowd in the direction opposite she had come.

"Princess Hopps!" The Captain worriedly called out after her, but his voice was soon lost in the din of the square as well as the torrent of emotions inside her. Her betrothed had yet to cross into the camp across from the city; she could feel it. If he had gone through the square then he would've taken the Burrow's main road northward before it curved westward towards the docks and the river. The journey was long at this time a day, when there were rabbits filling every pace of the streets, but she knew the layout of the city well enough from her studies to plot a detour that would bypass the busy sectors.

She could almost see a red line leading out of the square as she pushed through the hordes of well-to-do rabbits crowding around the stalls around its edge, and she followed it down a much less packed street with a quickened pace, entirely rejuvenated.

The sun continued to set behind her, and eventually its light disappeared completely. Along with it went the liveliness on every street, and as Judy piloted down alleyway after alleyway she found herself alone.

And lost. The anger inside her slowly turned to dread as the sights along the dark, deserted streets became less and less familiar, and eventually altogether new. The entire world was suddenly foreign and unwelcoming, and she gruffly exhaled as she rested her back against a wooden wall of an abandoned house. The claustrophobic alley she was in seemed endless, and it snaked along in front of her without remorse. She stared down it coldly, unsure what was waiting for her beyond the next turn.

"For the sake of the harvests!" She quietly grumbled between hard breaths, and she closed her eyes as she rested the back of her head against the flimsy wall. Despite her frequent exercises long distance sprints were not her strong suit. Her excursion was probably already miles long, judging by how quiet her surroundings were. She had not the vaguest idea of where she was in the city. Nowhere nice - that was for certain - but she could hear the faint sound of running water coming from further down the foreboding alleyway, and she pushed herself off the wall and began to trek down it with loud breaths.

But before she could even take ten steps her ears shot up from behind her back and she stopped dead in her tracks. Quickly approaching from the stone path ahead as well as behind her were heavy pawsteps, and the eerie sound of a weapon being drawn accompanied them with vile intent.

"'ooks 'ike we've got you cornered, pretty bunny," A deep voice fiendishly called out from the blackness, and Judy watched two dark shapes move towards her from around the alley's corner. She couldn't recognize their faces in the moonlight, but she could see the dim reflection of the light off of the leading rabbit's dagger. They smelled raw and unclean, like the filth at the bottom of a creek, and as they continued their loud and disorganized advance towards her she tensed her body and gripped the handle of her rapier with her right paw.

"Ain't nowhere to run," A new, medium voice casually warned from behind her, and Judy spun on her feet and drew her rapier in the same instant the short rabbit who had sneaked up behind her drew out his dagger. His eyes were filled with dirty thoughts, and for a moment time seemed to stop as he tensed to strike at her. All of the training she had put herself through during the past week came flooding back to her, and in the instant he pushed his feet off the ground to leap at her she lunged towards him with all her strength.

She hit his arm, and he made a pained noise as he retreated from her with his eyes closed and his jaw clenched shut. There was a small puncture in his ragged beige tunic, right in the center of his shoulder, and a small trickle of bright red blood was running down the length of her weapon.

 _What harm have I done?_ She asked herself in shock, her eyes wide at the sight of blood, but she quickly found her confidence and pointed her sword towards the thug once again. _None to this pariah!_

"Bad decision, you whore!" The wounded rabbit violently whispered, his eyes alight with fire, and he threw himself towards her with a snarl. She darted out of the path of his blade just in the nick of time, and she spun on her toes to land a blow on his back. He fell to the ground with a half-howl, colliding with the feet of one of the other attackers and leaving the bandit with the knife advancing towards her alone.

She sliced his wrist when he overextended himself in a lunge, and she vaulted towards him and knocked his weapon to the ground as he let loose a wail. He threw a punch towards her, missed, and in the moment his arm was fully extended in the tight alleyway she jumped off the ground, pushed herself off the nearby building, and drew her arm back to strike at his furious face.

But the third, unarmed attacker who had finally scrambled to his feet landed a bone-shattering punch on her face in midair, and she awkwardly dropped to the ground with a loud thud. She ignored the sharp, throbbing pain coming from her jaw and tried to scramble back up to her feet, but her attacker began to wail on her stomach with his foot, and she flinched at every blow as she feebly attempted to raise her sword.

The rapier was forced out of her paw as the other two rabbits joined in the barrage. She could feel bruises forming all over her body, and she began to cough and wheeze in exhaustion, pain, and a mixture of hate and fear. Eventually after what had seemed like an eternity the kicks stopped and the sharp pains all over her began to subside, and she could feel herself being dragged to her feet by her attackers. She wearily cracked her eyes open, and she tried to raise her ears, but they were quickly forced back downwards by the rabbits now on either side of her.

The first attacker was standing directly in front of her with his paw clutching the wound on his shoulder while an irate expression was entrenched into his face. He was holding her rapier down to his side, but in one quick blow he forced the blade towards her face.

She tried to dart her head away from it, but she was so exhausted by the beating that all she could do was feebly flinch to her left. The sharp edge of the rapier connected with her cheek, and she let loose a pained noise as a long, shallow cut formed at the point of connection.

"You're in deep now, my lady," Her attacker deviously grumbled, letting the point of the rapier fall to lift up the bottom of her blue dress, his eyes peeking underneath. "We were just gonna teach you a lesson, but you're a feisty one, aren't ya? You're staying with us 'til your debt's been paid."

Judy growled at the rabbit, whose tongue was now licking his lips, and she tried to push towards him with whatever strength that had managed to survive through the soreness all over her. But the strong paws around her shoulders held her tightly in place, and she could only bear her clenched teeth.

The look on the rabbit's face looked almost delighted as his blade continued to pull up her dress, and her heavy heart began to beat out of her chest in a fearful reaction while her claws flexed in a murderous rage.

Just as her exposed crotch was about to come into the full view of the vagrant the blade stopped its ascent, and in the dim moonlight Judy watched the expression of her violator turn from excited to dreadful in a mere instant. At first she frowned in confusion, but her eyes widened tenfold in relief, horror, and frustration as she saw what had happened to him.

A long, silver blade had silently slipped through his stomach. It was a piercing red against a field of black of grey, and it was accompanied by two fire-filled emeralds directly to the side of his shocked and trembling face.

The Prince had finally made his appearance.

Her attacker dropped her rapier and bolted down the alleyway with an ear-splitting screech, forcing his way through the two accomplices holding her in place as a steady trickle of blood followed closely at his heels. Seeing an opportunity, Judy forced herself out of the paws of the two remaining attackers and threw herself towards her rapier laying enticingly exposed on the brick pathway. She landed on her back with an awkward thud as her sore muscles gave out, but she scrambled onto her elbows and snatched her rapier into her paw before she held it out towards the stunned and confused criminals.

They looked at her dumbfounded, and the larger one on the left took a step towards her with his dagger drawn, but a bright shape came surging from behind her and with a massive blow severed the rabbit's paw from his arm. He caterwauled in pain, and Judy stared in shock at the severed paw limply laying on the ground.

The Prince had done that. Her betrothed. The soldier who had never taken a life.

But he lived up to that name, for the moment. The injured rabbit ran crying down the alleyway, and his counterpart dropped his dagger and backed away from the Prince with a petrified expression before he too fled. The Prince stared after him for several seconds, and as Judy rolled over to kneel on the cool stone bricks with her eyes closed and a worn expression on her face she heard him shout an order in the tongue of foxes. There were more shouts in response, followed by the sounds of steel leg-guards creaking and quick, heavy pawsteps leading down the alley in pursuit of the attackers.

And just like that, silence returned. Her breaths were strained and heavy, and with every inhale a spur of pain shot up through her core and into her chest. She let her rapier fall to the cobbled bricks, and it rattled against them with a sound that made her core shudder.

She slowly cracked open her eyes, feeling both safe and vulnerable at the same time. She could've been abused, robbed, murdered - or worse. The Prince had saved her from that future.

Yet as she turned her head up from the bricks to look at him, she could see he was just as pleased at what had just transpired as she was. He was still holding his short sword to his side, a constant drool of scarlet blood dripping next to the bandit's severed paw, while his cold expression remained unchanged.

"Thanks," She grumbled, painfully raising up from her kneel with a struggled grunt while she wiped the thin cut on her face with her forearm. Her blue sleeve became tainted with red, and she stared at the sight in bewilderment for several seconds. It was the first time she had seen her own blood.

"If you hadn't been here..." She mumbled, suddenly not daring to think of the alternative ending to the confrontation, and she stopped talking as her breathing quickened and as her eyes traveled back up to connect with the Prince's. She almost smiled at him, but his face remained stern and his eyes piercing. He didn't look the slightest part relieved that she was relatively unhurt.

Eventually his sword returned to its sheath and his cold green eyes became filled with fire, and as he took a threatening step towards her the anger that had drove her to follow him began to flow back into her dazed mind.

"Why did you follow me?" He darkly demand with an irate growl, his teeth glinting white in the moonlight like pearls in water as they became bared in a snarl. His short strides quickly closed the gap between them, and Judy stiffly backed towards the half-stone half-wood wall directly behind her in a useless attempt at putting distance between her and his anger.

 _What are you doing?_ A voice in her head angrily screamed, and she stopped her retreat and stood absolutely still. Time slowed down until the entire world was paused, and Judy frowned as she scoured the Prince's rage filled face. What right did he have to be mad at her? If anyone was going to be furious it was her - not him! He had treated her terribly for _how_ _long_? And he had abandoned her at the west gate without as much as a word! Oh, if she didn't kill him these next few moments then he'd be the _luckiest_ mammal this side of the River Rhine!

"Why did you leave without me?" She rebuked, stomping towards him to meet him in the center of the alley. She stood directly underneath his muzzle and stared into his burning eyes with equal, if not greater, fire in her own.

"Are you an idiot?" The Prince harshly questioned as he flared his nostrils and bared his ghostly white teeth even more. Judy staunchly stood down his gaze, not daring to answer the question and play into his paws.

"You should've known better than to follow me," He growled, shifting on his feet as his tensed paws fell behind his back. "There have been vagrants plaguing this district of the Burrow ever since Lord Caer launched his faulty crusade."

"You speak as if you told me of that," She coldly countered, her genuine frown firmly remaining on her face even as the Prince growled and took a small, threatening step towards her. She was fully capable of leaning her head forward and resting it against his shining steel armor, but she had no desire to be _intimate_.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The Prince growled in confusion, visibly frustrated by their conversation.

"That you are not Prince Wilde anymore!" She yelled in absolute anger, all of the heat inside her pouring out, yet hidden under all that rage was a twinge of grief. "You act as if you were someone else! An entirely new mammal who refuses to include me in affairs that we should be investigating together!"

"I am the Prince of the Empire and the heir to the throne of the Burrows!" The Prince shouted back, towering over her with a brutal glare. "I shall not stand for your criticism for a second more!"

"But you shall!" She shouted back at him, clenching her fists as she raised onto her toes to stare at him on his own eye-level with an undaunted gaze, and her heart beat faster as she tried to appeal to his emotional side. "I am as much an heir to the throne of the Empire and the Burrows as you are! We are to be married to one another - united in holy matrimony! Surely we must work in tandem to unite our species! Is that not visible to you?"

The Prince didn't answer, only stiffening his clenched jaw and continuing to stare down at her with an unflinchingly hostile glare.

 _So he doesn't feel anything..._ Judy thought with suppressed melancholy as she studied his expression, and she felt a small part of her heart crack and fall into an abyss of hopelessness. But her heart skipped a beat just as it reached the nadir of its collapse.

On the Prince's face, buried far below the hate and anger on its surface, was affection. Even though he wouldn't express it, he felt it, and that small emotion was enough to reinvigorate her and weld her heart back into place.

 _He feels it._ She told herself with a gulp, all of her anger draining through her fur and into the air, and she let a relaxed expression take over her face as she took a deep, calming breath, shut her eyes, and let the cool air repair her.

"Mark this, Prince Piberius," She slowly yet confidently began, opening her gaze to look back up at the Prince's now more stern and annoyed rather than furious expression, and he crossed his arms over his armored chest as he listened to her. "Lord Caer is but one of many rabbits in the Empire to whom an alliance between foxes and rabbits is unthinkable. Likewise, there are many foxes in the Empire also opposed to the idea. If you alone were to take all the authority of the throne of the Burrows while sparing none for me then who is to say that you shall have peace with those who despise you? And if I were to take power in solely the Empire then would not the same conflict arise?"

"My Prince Piberius, if you truly desire a lasting peace, then you _must_ allow me to accompany and advise you," She proposed, her stance echoing knowledge while underneath her blue dress insecurity churned like an infection.

That insecurity only grew at the Prince's silence. Underneath his organized expression he was deep in thought, yet he didn't express any feeling nor reveal his view of her proposition. Judy kept herself calm, not wanting to rush his decision, and as the silence continued and his frown grew her heart's heavy beats became even more weighted.

"A fair proposal, Princess Hopps," The Prince eventually stated with a blink at her, and Judy internally sighed with relief, not wanting to compromise her perfervid posture. The Prince took a small step forward, and he moved his paw off his chest to wipe the dried blood from her cheek. It stung, but she let him do it, not daring to move her eyes from his now focused on her wound.

"Your style of swordsmanship is flawed," He neutrally commented, the frown gone from his forehead as he withdrew his paw from her now cleaned cut. "You require more training - not using _this_ -"

The Prince bent over to pick up the bloodied rapier laying on the stone pavement, and he held it out in front of him and inspected its blade for several seconds.

"-piece of rubbish," He finished, turning back to her as he wiped the bloodied blade with his paw, and a stern, almost domineering frown formed on his face. "You require a real weapon, not a decorative one."

"I have owned that blade since my youth," She protested, keeping the annoyance inside her quelled.

"And does that make you a better swordsman?" The Prince retorted, taking a slow step away from her as his paws fell to grip the rapier's tilted handle behind his back with its blade pointing towards the ground. "You need a soldier's weapon. A sword, or spear, or dagger. Not this. Is that clear?"

"It is," Judy answered, clutching her paws in front of her while she respectfully bowed her head. "My Princ-"

"Very good," The Prince rudely interrupted, quickening his pace as he walked back down the alleyway in the direction he had come from. Judy raised from her bow and watched him leave, suddenly feeling a rage flow over her again, but she suppressed the feeling. Anger would only further worsen their already strained relationship.

She quickly followed him, not daring to stray from his side, but as the alleyway thinned further and when distant shouts emerged from farther down in the dim moonlight he took the lead, pushing her out of the way without even a glance.

"From now on, you are to _never_ follow me unless I ask of you," The Prince growled as he cast his wary green eyes in her direction, and Judy clenched her jaw and nodded. "Good. You have a keen grasp of the political game, Princess, despite your inexperience. You shall remain by my side as an adviser until you have mastered the craft. Do you understand."

"I do," She begrudgingly yet calmly replied, and she ground her paws further to combat his condescending tone.

"Good," The Prince replied, and he fell absolutely silent.

The alleyway gradually widened again, but Judy remained firmly behind the Prince, deciding it would be for the better if she allowed him to take the lead. It was clear he was not fond of her becoming as influential as him. Was it a fear of losing power? Was he a megalomaniac? Neither of those seemed likely to her.

Yet this chance to spend time with him was an open door, an opportunity for her to mold the Prince as he molded her. Even now, as she stared at his fiery fur and pointed, erect ears, she could see the fox that night on the balcony. Somewhere inside Prince Piberius was Prince Wilde, and by god she was going to find him.

All she needed was time and a small cup of wine.

* * *

 **Fun.**

 **Rewritten 6/25**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Well well well. With my other story, _Primal: A Zootopia Fanficiton_ finally completed I can now turn my full attention to this story! Expect bi-monthly updates from here on out until I have more time!**

 **I recently received an illustration from Be-wildery which depicts a scene from Chapter 6. He's a very talented artist and I suggest you go check out his artistic profile at** Be-Wilder at Deviantart **!**

* * *

"I can still hardly believe what happened," A voice exclaimed, and Judy lifted her gaze from the book resting in her lap to stare at the robed figure standing motionlessly in the library's wooden doorway. The rose-colored tint that the novel's fine black print had draped over her faded instantly, and she carefully touched the cut on her cheek with her right paw while her left snapped the covers of the book shut and slowly lifted the title onto the small table to the side of her chair's ornate armrest.

"As can I," She staidly agreed, standing up from her comfortable seat and meandering into the center of the room while her red-clad father hurried towards her. The afternoon sunlight pouring in through the library's massive windows made his worried expression as clear as glass, and she smiled at his apprehension. He would always see her as his helpless daughter, regardless of if she could take care of herself.

"How are you healing?" King Hopps asked as he came to a stop in front of her, his eyes scouring her deep red dress in vain for any signs of bruising underneath.

"Very well, father," She answered, her radiant smile drawing the King's eyes back up to her face and the paw still gently massaging the swollen wound on her cheek.

"It is looking far more healthy than yesterday," He fretfully commented, a frown still firmly entrenched into his brow as he took a step forward and peered closer to her to examine the cut. "How are your bruises?"

"Sore, but not as swollen as they had been before," She honestly replied, lowering her right paw from rubbing her cheek to politely clasp with her left. She winced in pain as her father rubbed the wound with the back of his paw, and his eyes darted back to hers at the small jerk.

"We are lucky nothing worse happened to you," He thankfully exasperated with a sigh, and he took his paw off her cheek and walked away from her to stare out at the palace's gardens through the library's tall windows. "Yet I'm still displeased that you left the palace without any escort. You should have know better than to follow Prince Piberius through the Abra District! That area has been-"

"-a crime-filled pit ever since the expansion of the docks was halted," Judy warmly interrupted, walking up behind her loving father and resting one of her paws on his shoulder. "You have warned me of it many times. Had I known I had wandered into it I would have departed immediately. I am truly sorry that I put myself in such great risk."

 _Well..._ A loud voice silently disagreed in her head. In truth, she wasn't the slightest part regretful about her actions now two nights prior. Ever since her and the Prince's heated exchange in the back alley where she had been ambushed by a group of knaves her prominence to her betrothed had increased exponentially. She had spent most of yesterday with him and his advisers discussing a variety of topics, ranging from the best methods to hunt down and arrest the bandits who had assaulted her to the rearmament of the Army of the Burrows. She and the Prince had been speaking to one another in a forefront and respectful manner frequently in the string of recent meetings, and had even planned further summits and swordsmanship exercises with one another. He wasn't the Prince Wilde she knew, but that was not to say he was the same Prince Piberius.

She had been seated with the Empire's Marshals for an evening-long discussion the night prior, after a very brief morning recovery from her 'traumatic' experience, with Ambassador Dhani seated to her left and Marshal Navus to her right. While she had been initially discontented that she was not beside the Prince at the head of the table as his co-ruler she had found through the Ambassador that his decision was not because of any desire to keep her distanced.

"He came to me, last night in the camp," The tan, jewelry-covered fox had recounted in his signature accent while the Prince had been held up with Marshal Certus. "He was as pale as the moon, as if he had drunken an ale left to rot for a hundred years, and he said to me, 'Dhani, send your soldiers into the city. Princess Hopps has been ambushed.' And I asked, 'Is she alright? Why wasn't she with you at the Palace?' He tells me, 'She's being treated by the camp surgeon, but she's alright. What have I done, Dhani, leaving without her?'"

"He sighed then, and he sat down in one of the chairs with a troubled look. He exasperated, 'Dhani, she't not like others. She wishes to learn about war and peace.' And I said, 'Of course! She followed you! She risked her life because you refused her!' And the Prince looked at me, and he said without any kind of emotion, 'There has never been someone like her. I will have to be careful with how she is brought into the Empire's politics.'"

The Prince's words still echoed throughout the caverns in Judy's body like a raindrop on a still lake, and for a moment she was no longer beside her father but in the woods towering over the palace grounds.

 _There has never been someone like her before._ She softly repeated to herself, but no smile grew on her face. The Prince's compliment both excited and confused her. Did he mean that she was unique to the Empire, or to him? Or was she special to both? Why couldn't he just convey his emotions like a normal mammal instead of leaving her with naught save riddles!

"Is everything amicable between you and Prince Piberius?" King Hopps suddenly asked, and Judy almost jumped out of her fur at the sound of his voice. She refocused her gaze on his face, still turned towards the palace gardens yet now filled to the brim with worry.

"Me and the Prince are closer than ever before, father," She lovingly reassured in a sly lie, the memory of the fateful night on her balcony filling her form with rejuvenated life and security. All would be back to normal between the two of them soon enough.

"That is good to hear," Her father began, the worry in his eyes replaced with weariness as his gaze fell to the floor. "After the both of you treated each other with such hostility in the training courtyard... Well, that was but a lover's squabble, wasn't it?"

"Of course, father," Judy gleefully confirmed with a forced chuckle, but her smile became plagued with hidden worry once again underneath her merry facade.

 _If we were_ both _lovers, then yes._ She dreadfully corrected, but she suppressed the ill emotion when her father turned towards her.

"Then I have nothing to worry about," The King finished, his paws falling behind his back as a radiant smile formed on his face. "As long as you are happy, my daughter."

 _And with each day that passes I am coming closer and closer to that._ Judy silently added as her expression became truthfully radiant again, and her mischievous gaze quickly darted towards a book-covered desk against the library's far wall for but half an instant. _The clock is ticking, Prince Piberius. I now know more about you than even yourself, even if you_ are _my mortal enemy. But the Death-Worship Raccoon Cults say that you must understand your enemy if he is to one day be your friend!_

"And now is regrettably the time that I must depart," King Hopps contritely sighed in farewell, taking several elongated paces towards the doorway at the other end of the room with his paws still behind his back, and Judy watched him go with a contented expression while her feet eagerly bounced her up and down. "I have a meeting with the Emperor over roasted trout. I must admit, I am quite nervous about eating a vulpine delicacy, but it is a step towards peace I am willing to take!"

"Sweet cheese!" Judy exclaimed wide-eyed and straight-eared, her relaxed mind suddenly startled by her father's plans and the ever descending sun now peeking at the top of the library's windows. How much of an idiot could she be? She had dallied too long in her studying! How long had her reading break lasted?

"My apologies, father," She hurriedly apologized, bolting away from the library's window and grabbing her romance from the side table next to the ornate armchair.

"The fact has slipped my mind that the Prince is meeting me for dinner in my suite this evening!" She called out as she rushed across the wide room to an antique wooden desk to return a short stack of books and journals aptly named after her fiance to their proper places on the neighboring shelf.

"In your suite?" King Hopps suspiciously repeated before she could explain herself, and she turned towards him and stared at his wary face for a single second before she approached him, her personal novel firmly grasped underneath her arm.

"You do not have to fret about me becoming adulterous," She hastily reassured, hugging her father's wide shoulders and pressing the side of her head against his. She could feel the coolness from his golden crown seeping into her fur, and she pulled away quickly so it wouldn't taint the heat roaring underneath her flame-red dress.

"He is only accompanying me because I requested him to," She elaborated, both her paws still on her father's shoulders. "We are to discuss Lord Caer's rebellion over a meal I shall cook myself before he introduces me to field-ready combat training."

"Combat training?" King Hopps repeated, raising an eyebrow as the caution fled from his brow, and a lighthearted smirk emerged onto his face. "You have always been receptive to fighting. More so than even your brothers!"

"And with the Prince's help I shall defeat them on the field of battle!" She humorously vowed, swiftly bowing her head in courtesy before bolting for the library's open doorway, grabbing her book from underneath her arm as she turned the corner and sprinted down the empty hallway.

"Always the eager rabbit!" She heard her father shout from the doorway, and her grin grew into an ecstatic yet secretly amused smile at his comment.

 _And one with an infallible plan for the night!_ She added, all the text from the biographies she had read suddenly whirling past her eyes. _Like I said before, my Prince, I know you better than you know yourself!_

* * *

Judy stared at the sight sprawled out in front of her with her paws on her hips and a proud expression on her face. Laid out on the long dining table before her was the greatest meal she had ever personally cooked. At one end of the spruce table sat a silver platter of fried turnips, carrots, and potatoes, all meticulously cooked and salted to the point where she was afraid to even glance at them, let alone eat them. At the other end, where the Prince would soon take his seat, rested a blackened trout on a silver platter. Despite her years of cooking, the large fish had taken monumental effort to prepare properly. She had never made anything even remotely like it before, nor had she seen any of the cooks in the palace's kitchens attempt such a dish!

 _Let us hope that it isn't too raw._ She nervously fretted, moving her paw up to rest on her chin while her foot incessantly tapped against the cold marble floor beneath her. _I think I'll jump from the balcony if he takes a mouthful of half-cooked blueberries and undercooked flesh!_

Judy stared at her fiance's meal for several seconds longer than she should have, staring deep into the trout's charred eyes. It seemed wrong to eat something that had once been living. A small, ignorant part of her even feared that if she presented the Prince with the fish then he'd turn around and eat her!

"Don't be so foolish, Judith!" Judy scolded aloud, a stubborn expression coming onto her face as she turned away from the table and wandered back across her suite's wide, open-aired living room with her eyes firmly locked on a particular couch at its far end. "You've spent most of the day reading of the Prince! Those biographers' words are as true as the stars above. He will not eat me - let alone hurt me."

With a weary exasperation Judy coordinately collapsed onto the target sofa, one of the many colorful, romantic-styled pieces scattered around her suite, with her head resting in her paw and her red dress sprawled out along the piece of furniture, its folds dirtied from the past hours of cooking. Her eyes and ears scanned the top of the large, oaken door that sat at the bottom of her suite's lowered landing, but no sound came from behind it, and she reluctantly withdrew into the confines of her head.

This evening would have to be the absolutely ideal starting point if she was going to truly help the Prince arise from his burial deep within the tactical and ambitious fox that had taken his place. Even after reading page after page of his exploits both on and off the campaign coupled with the knowledge she had learned of him from his own words there were still great gaps in her understanding of his likes and dislikes, but most importantly she only vaguely understood his mysterious mind. It was locked with a key she had yet to comprehend.

 _Why can't I just have my fox back?_ She sourly questioned with a nervous and anxious sigh, and she turned away from her suite's entrance and scooted up the length of the blue fabric couch to reach for the novel she had left on the accompanying side table. Her heart beat just that little bit faster as she snuggled up to rest her chest on the sofa's armrest, and as she studied the all too familiar leather cover of the book in her paws her ears fell behind her head and her legs curled closer to her groin.

 _"The Romance of the Wandering Hearts"_. She read, her eyes flicking over the book's title over and over again. _I've never liked the name. It's always been far too vague. And, without a doubt, not the title for an engaged mammal._

But the book's plot was not as risque as it would let on. It followed the journey of two rabbits only named as the Lord and the Lady who carried nothing save their love for one another. They had been destined from birth to fall into a passionate romance, yet, seemingly inevitably, they had been separated from one another mere instants after their hearts had been united. It was their burning desire to be reunited with one another that had driven them to set off from their homes, and after a lifelong adventure that had seen the both of them travel most of the world and fight off many a foul villain they were finally together again.

She swore she knew every word of its yellow pages by heart. She had read every line a countless number of times in her spare hours or during much needed pauses from the actions of the world, yet the climax of the book, where she was now at the forefront of, still shook her to her core. In her mind, it was and would always be the most vehement novel ever written in the common tongue.

 _And there they saw._ Judy shakily repeated in her head, skipping through the ripened pages until she found the folded corner where she had paused before her father's interruption. _Their eyes locked. Their minds shocked. Their hearts wrought. Each grey, each used, each the first page in the oldest book; their sword-gripping paws shook. They ran towards the other, and in one another they smothered. Their love as aged as their grey muzzles. Yet their clothes they tousled, and in one another they nuzzled. Both their hearts absolutely raw._ **[1]**

 _Their clothes soon fell._ Judy restlessly read, thumbing through the page as she forced her burning ears further into her back, and a feeling of excitement nudged its way into her mind as her cheeks turned a dark shade of red underneath her facial fur.

 _Their bones creaked._ She attentively continued, attempting to feel the climax of the scene as much as the lovers were, and for a short while she was immersed in the page. _Their fur a dark color streaked. Each one for the other shrieked. Their nude fur became tangled. Neither could've their emotions handled. The feeling of love was euphoric, the length of their passion historic. Eventually their bodies collapsed, and after a tense while their bodies relaxed. Their genitals had become wax-_

"Princess Hopps?" A loud, muffled voice interrupted, and Judy shot her ears up at the foreign sound and slammed her book shut, the embarrassment from being caught reading such a obscene piece spilling out from her tomato-red face. Her eyes and ears flew around her suite's wide open living space, searching for the mammal that had called out to her from rug to chandelier, but almost immediately she realized it had originated from behind the door in her quarter's lowered landing.

"Coming!" She hurriedly yelled to the Prince, who she could hear idly shuffling behind the heavy door, and she swiftly placed her novel spine-up on the small table while she sprung from the sofa and bounded towards the marble steps leading down to the landing with long, agile strides.

She leaped down the long steps in a single action and reached for the iron-bolted oaken door's ornate handle with her paw, but she prematurely stopped it and turned her gaze downwards, looking over herself one last time to make sure she looked presentable. She hastily flattened out her dress and rolled her shoulders back to shake her red gown to its proper position before she cleared her throat and put on a respectful and joyous smile, attempting to drown both the erupting excitement and what remained of the embarrassment hidden behind her grin. She appeared as nice as she could have, given the circumstances and the throbbing cut on her cheek.

"Good evening, my Prince Piberius," She urgently greeted with a respectful bow of the head after she pulled open the door in one quick motion, and from the corner of her gaze she caught the Prince, in his recently polished steel armor with all its attachments and regalia, sending her the same courtesy.

"I must apologize for my unpunctuality," She hurriedly started, lifting from her bow to stare at Prince Piberius's pointed yet calm expression and piercing eyes. "I was... had been... caught up in one of my novels!"

"That happens to even the most concentrated of us on occasion," The Prince admitted, a humored yet formal smile forming on his face, and Judy chuckled at his lighthearted quip. She could still sense the stiffness in every ounce of his structure, but that only drove the determination inside her to greater heights.

"How are your wounds treating you?" The Prince inquired, walking in from the dim hallway and into the bright, stone landing with his tail rigidly following him.

"Very well, my Prince Piberius," Judy merrily answered, taking a step away from her betrothed and motioning towards the steps leading up into the heart of her suite. "I have cooked us both a very satisfying meal, so if you would, my Prince, then we can begin our discussion immediatley."

"It does smell satisfying," The Prince smugly acknowledged as he stepped towards the wide staircase, yet he spun back towards her with a delighted expression while he continued to back up on the tops of his toes, his nose raised upwards as he incessantly sniffed the air. "And do I smell incense?"

"You do," Judy proudly confirmed as she soundlessly shut the massive oaken door with both of her paws and hurried over to traverse the steps beside him. "Cinnamon, Ginger, and Jasmine, to be exact. There is an abundance here in the Central Burrow from all the trade with the east."

"I love the smell of cinnamon," The Prince honestly announced, closing his eyes as a relaxed expression came onto his face and as he swished his long, well-kept tail back and forth, occasionally brushing against her dress. Judy followed close to his side with her paws clutched and a pleased yet crafty smile built onto her jaw.

 _I am aware._ She silently admitted in triumph just as the Prince opened his eyes and looked around the entirety of her inner suite from the final step. _And I am also aware of where you smelled them in your youth, you promiscuous and indecent tod!_

"A very regal residence indeed, my Princess Hopps," The Prince casually noted as his eyes scoured the lively tapestries, rugs, and pieces of furniture scattered around her suite like flowers in a field. Judy followed his gaze, staring at the innumerable candles and bowls of incenses burning on nearly every tabletop along with the many finely-crafted vases and antiquities accompanying them.

"I suppose it is so," She animatedly agreed, taking a step away from the stairs and walking along the marble floor towards the long dining table where their meals still sat, all the while keeping her respectful gaze locked with the Prince's. "However it has never passed into my mind that it is any more august than any other room in the palace. From my earliest days I have grown accustomed to its scale."

"My scale is not half as grand as yours, my Princess Hopps," The Prince informed, his friendly voice yet once again contained, and he followed at her heels across the open floor with his paws clasped behind his back while his eyes continued to scour every inch of her suite as if he were a robber baron. "It is in my small room on the floor below that I feel in my true place. This, I am afraid, is far too grand for any of my species."

"Nonsense!" Judy lively exclaimed as she pulled out the chair from underneath her end of the dining table, and the Prince's intrigued eyes darted up from his cooked fish and connected with hers at her outburst. "You are the Prince of the Empire and shall soon be its Emperor, and shall also be the King of the Burrows, in good time. You stand to become the most regal fox in the world!"

"I suppose," The Prince solemnly admitted with a small shrug, most of the warmth from his voice now routed as he stepped towards the chair at his end of the long dining table with his eyes glancing at the glass of wine beside his plate. "But one should never forget their roots, regardless of their early years."

 _Even if that childhood was spent overseas, isolated from those close to you?_ Judy silently questioned, a twang of pain rising in her furiously beating heart as her fiance's face became absolutely strict, and a small wave of uneasiness and annoyance passed into her as he rested his rear in the wooden dining chair and studied the cooked trout's scent and appearance nigh-critically.

"A pleasant surprise to consume fish while dining with a rabbit," He politely began, moving his dining utensils resting to the left of his silver platter onto the table's red tablecloth while he tucked his green fabric napkin laying in front of his platter into the collar of his armor. "Did you make this yourself, Princess Hopps?"

"I have, Prince Piberius," Judy answered with forced courtesy, her voice transitioning to become no louder than a mouse's whisper as she settled herself into her chair and prepared her napkin and utensils for her cooked vegetables. "And it shall be the most delicious dish you have ever eaten, else both of us will become incorrigible."

She could almost picture a disappointed expression moving onto the Prince's face the instant he tasted his dish. Her plans would be squandered and the evening would have been spent in vain if she hadn't cooked the trout precisely how the Prince had described how he enjoyed the dish in a biography - with salted blueberries stuffed inside and a light coating of vinegar on its outer skin. All she could do was wait and see if it had turned out well.

"Well, then, that is enough of formalities," The Prince announced as he cleared his throat, his calm green eyes locked with hers once again as he picked up his silver utensils and scooted himself closer to the dish. "I trust you have been keeping yourself informed with Lord Caer's rebellion since the last time we met."

"Of course," Judy properly answered, lifting her gaze in unison her silverware as she picked them up off the tablecloth, but before she could expand upon her knowledge her eyes widened to the size of moons in an expression of horror and apprehension. The Prince had turned his hungry yet calm green gaze towards his meal and was in the process of cutting himself a delectable bite from his trout's side. She had to suppress her body with all her strength from unceremoniously leaping across the table and testing the foreign dish for herself.

"On the top of every hour a guard informed me of the campaign's events," She urgently elaborated, and she felt her paws grip her silverware ferociously and her voice speed up even further as the Prince put his forkful of fish into his serrated mouth and began to chew. "Our combined forces have come into conflict with Lord Caer's army, have they not?"

"As of the last courtier, yes," The Prince managed to reply through his mouthful of meat, his voice still calm and formal, and a small weight was lifted from Judy's chest as she watched him swallow. Yet her apprehension still remained; the Prince was still just as stiff as he had looked when he entered. The dish he had spoken of so highly in his biographies had had no affect on him.

"Then what are the plans for after the rebellion is put down?" She anxiously ventured, her heart beating ever so faster as she began to absentmindedly cut one of the turnips on her own platter with her knife and fork while her mind worked at full capacity to keep the conversation afloat. "Would we have more free time to... participate in other occupations, such as travell-"

"Military tribunal," The Prince rudely interrupted, his eyes still focused on the trout while his paws remained hard at work slicing off large swathes of the fish and moving them up to his pearly white teeth. "As soon as we have Lord Caer in our custody, of course. Afterwards we must work twice as hard to ensure that something such as this never occurs again."

"Of course," Judy respectfully agreed, the annoyance in her voice hidden behind its own civility. Once Lord Caer was imprisoned she and the Prince would be spending even _less_ time with one another. That would be just brilliant for their future marriage.

"What is the information the Marshals have known of the battle?" She coldly delved, refusing to let the irritation slide from her thoughts, and she turned down to look at her platter of cooked vegetables as she moved up the slice of her turnip her paws had cut for her to her mouth. "I ask because of what I observed during our meeting yesterday and their seemingly endless knowledge of the situation."

"They know as much as we know, Princess Hopps," The Prince flatly rebuked, carefully chewing his fish. "The courtier that was supposed to have arrived at the top of the hour has not yet made his presence known. As far as any mammal outside of Moorston is concerned the battle that rages there has only... just..."

The Prince's words trailed off as he loudly cleared his throat, and Judy looked up from her platter mid-chew with a frown still entrenched onto her brow, curious and somewhat suspicious as to what had interrupted his train of thought. Her shrewd eyes searched his confused and frowning face staring down at his half-eaten fish as if it were a bad memory. There was a motionless bulge in his cheek, undoubtedly a fresh bite of trout, yet he didn't chew it. Instead he turned his eyes upwards, and as they connected with hers they softened and his chewing resumed at a speedier pace.

"Is this a cooked trout?" He eagerly asked, his eyes slowly becoming alight with life and enthusiasm. "Stuffed with salted blueberries? And coated in vinegar?"

"It is, my Prince Piberius," Judy admitted, surprised but not at all offended by his outburst. Her frown disappeared and her ears perked as the Prince eagerly turned back towards his meal, and a sense of triumphant victory replaced every ounce of irritation underneath her red dress as he dug into the trout, his muzzle becoming slightly stained with blue.

"Are you enjoying its taste?" She keenly asked, straining her head over the silver, wine-filled goblet partially obstructing her view of her betrothed along with the golden candlesticks placed periodically along the long table, and she grinned and rested her silverware on her platter as the Prince profusely nodded.

"It tastes just like it did in my childhood," He warmly admitted with a gleeful smile, and he enthusiastically cut himself another slice of trout and gobbled it down with an equal amount of zeal while his tail wagged back and forth behind his chair. "You know, I ate this every night during my youth across the channel. In fact, have I ever told you that I spent many of my early years in the Empire's Northern ports along the Camhara? **[2]** "

"Oh, I am well aware, my Prince Piberius," Judy acknowledged, her smile becoming jovially devious and joyous as she reached for the silver goblet beyond her silver platter and took a large sip of wine. "But tell me more."

* * *

"That was the most satisfying meal I have eaten in quite a long time, my Princess Hopps," The Prince merrily announced, patting the steel plate that covered his core as he raised from his chair and withdrew the napkin from his collar. "And I don't think I've had the pleasure of drinking a red wine as flavorful as that for many years - at least not since my taste of Marshal Certus's Beardeaux Vintage at our mid-morning meeting!"

"I certainly hope not, my Prince Piberius," Judy comically exclaimed with a satisfied grimace, standing up from her chair and setting her napkin down on her now empty platter. "That wine is Fawnpagne brewed. I doubt you have tasted anything even remotely like it before!"

"Well, regardless, the meal was delicious," The Prince warmly commented, casually striding away from the dining table and into her suite's open living space with one of his paws lazily hanging behind his back and the other resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Now, then, would you care to indulge in some training?"

"Of course, my Prince Piberius!" Judy eagerly exclaimed with a small bow, her ears suddenly straightened to their greatest extent and her already lively eyes becoming even brighter. "Excuse me for just a moment as I retrieve my practice sword!"

The Prince brusquely nodded at her outburst, a satisfied smile still present on his face, and in one quick movement Judy darted around the edge of the dining table and rushed across the cool floor to storm through the closed doors leading into her bedroom.

 _All is going exactly as planned!_ She triumphantly exclaimed in her head as she hurried around her bed, and she was almost tempted to squeal with excitement as if she were a kit tasting sugar for the first time. _But keep your yourself contained! Remember to use your charm now that you've broken down his walls of seclusion!_

Her bedroom was devoid of the yellow glow of candles, instead only illuminated by the moon now slowly rising over the Burrow sprawled out below the palace's walls. Her grand, white-colored bed blended with its ghostly white glow while her open balcony doors invited in a cool midsummer night's breeze to tussle her facial fur.

Judy accepted the cold, thankful that the unbridled heat underneath her red-hot dress finally had a competitor, and her grin became relaxed as she came to a stop in front of an armored, rabbit-sized manikin between two dressers opposite her massive bed.

Her steel cuirass, now with a blade mark on its side where she had been struck by the bandits, was strapped onto the manikin's chest, while two sword sheaths - one that of her rapier and the other of her blunted training sword - were hanging from its waist. She pulled off her curiass first and strapped it over her trunk before she reached for her training sword with her left paw while her right tightened her armor's leather straps hanging at her waist.

It was tighter than the last she remembered, but that was most likely because of the plateful of vegetables she had just devoured. Their salty, savory taste still hung in her mouth like a long dream, and she grimaced as she fastened her practice sword's sheath around her waist.

When her regalia were finally secured she darted to a tall, gold-edged mirror by her balcony's open doors, feeling the need to look over herself one last time before she bolted back into her suite's living quarters to duel.

 _You look very decent, Judith_. She told herself with a powerful nod after her eyes had finished scouring every inch of her form and had returned to stare into her energetic purple eyes. _Aside from that annoying cut. But that cannot be helped. Now stop dallying and get out there!_

"Right," Judy curtly replied to herself aloud, and she hurried away from the mirror and across her bedroom to stand in its doorway. She let a genuine grin flourish on her face when she caught sight, between the candles and goblets along the long dining table partially obstructing her view, of the Prince leaning over something.

"Are you ready, my Priiinnncee?" She eagerly asked, closing her bedroom's doors behind her and swiftly hurrying back around the dining table, but her voice became high-pitched and her ears fell limp behind her head when she saw what the Prince was leaning over.

He was standing beside one of her suite's couches, the very same blue one she had been reclining and reading in before his arrival, with his paw holding open a small book resting beside a bowlful of incenses atop a circular side table. She immediately recognized the novel's familiar yellow pages and black text, and at the realization of what her fiance was reading her jaw fell wide open and her paws clenched by her sides.

 _No no no no no!_ She could hear herself screaming in her head, her nose now twitching as if it were a spasming mouse, yet all she could do was let the redness flourish on her cheeks while her brow formed a desperate expression and while her breathing fastened to a near-gale.

"' _Their nude fur became tangled'_ ," The Prince casually read aloud as he turned one of the book's pages, and one of his eyebrows gradually raised as he read on. "' _Neither could've their emotions handled. The feeling of love was euphoric, the length of their passion historic. Eventually their bodies collapsed, and after a tense while their bodies relaxed. Their genitals had become waxed...'_ "

Judy could feel every inch in her body burning with raw and utter humiliation, and the Prince stopped reading aloud and thumbed through the novel's last few pages. How could she have left something so... so... something so _pornographic_ laying out for all to read? How much of an idiot could she be?

"I never pictured you as a sensual romantic, my Princess Hopps," The Prince merrily announced, his voice full of surprise and his eyes relaxed as they skimmed the text on the final page of the novel. Judy remained absolutely silent, still dreading that she had been caught reading something so lewd, yet she snapped her gaping mouth shut and straightened herself as much as her distressed mind would let her when the Prince turned his inquisitive yet calm gaze towards her.

"Are you ashamed, Princess Hopps?" He lightly asked, raising an eyebrow as he closed the book and noncalantly wandered across the marble floor towards her with his paws behind his back.

"Immensely," She begrudgingly answered, her ears turning as red as her dress, and she tried to keep herself as contained and motionless as possible under her burning fur as the Prince came to a stop only a few feet in front of her. His eyes studied her face for several seconds, but she didn't budge from her ashamed expression.

"I don't care for that novel," The Prince suddenly admitted, his humored smile and warm eyes transitioning into a thoughtful expression. "I find its characters too unrealistic."

"How so?" Judy pointedly questioned, frustration as well as confusion flowing into her expression and posture. Had the Prince lowered his standards to simply mocking her, all so he could take jabs at her choice of reading?

"The Lord is far too vain," He elaborated, his friendly, green eyes refusing too move away from her seething purple gaze. "Not to mention he was manufactured by the author to be a staunch anti-fox critic. On the other paw, the Lady herself is far too dependent upon her followers, portraying her as lazy and misguided over the length of the novel. Not to mention the title itself. What a dreadful name, " _The Romance of the Wandering Hearts."_

"How do know all of this, my Prince Wilde," Judy pushed, a confused frown on her forehead as she took a step towards him, and she felt the tide of embarrassment inside her begin to retreat back into her sea of emotions while a new tide of dissent rose. "Surely you have not read a rabbit romance before!"

"Well," He wryly revealed, his sly grin growing as he raised his muzzle to stare down at her with fabricated annoyance. "Did you think me as an uncultured knave?"

"Of course not, my Prince Wilde," Judy earnestly apologized, hurriedly bowing her head, but her stern gaze was soon locked with the Prince's relaxed one once again. "It is just that I perceive the characters as masterpieces of literature."

"I do not think it is that case at all!" The Prince sarcastically disagreed, a respectful frown forming atop his brow, and he shifted on his feet and moved his paws to rest on the belt of his protective leather skirt while his once lively tail fell to motionlessly rest behind him. "What would you consider the scene where the Lord executes the prisoners after the skirmish with the ferrets to be other than an act of anti-predatorism?"

"He was merely enraged," Judy defended, her paws clenching into fists as she took a tempestuous step towards the Prince and as her tail began to twitch in irate disbelief. "He thought that they had murdered the Lady! Would I do the same thing in his situation, no, but that is what his character would have done!"

"And I dislike it!" The Prince turbulently rebuked, taking one more step forward as his eyes became filled with pulsing green fire. "I dislike the novel as a whole, from start to finish!"

"Then you _are_ an uncultured knave!" Judy passionately spat, and the Prince bared his teeth and growled at her. Yet she stood her ground, refusing to back down from her position. How _dare_ he criticize such an impressive work! She wouldn't let him off the pedestal so easily after what he had said!

The both of them stood there, staring into one another's passionate eyes mere inches away from each other, for what seemed like an eternal age. Eventually Judy smiled, still frowning, but genuinely pleased by the liveliness of their exchange. She could feel the passion of Prince Wilde in his voice, whether it be from her opposition or all the wine he had downed.

"Well at least we are both civilized in our arguments," He cunningly said with a pleased grin, backing up several steps before turning mid-stride and drawing out the dirty iron practice blade from his belt's sheath with his right paw. "Or, at least one of us is."

"Very funny, my Prince," Judy casually yet mockingly replied with an irritated smirk as she too turned and strode away from their point of confrontation with fluid-like paces and an elongated turn of the head. "But you are forgetting that I am the descendant of Kings and Queens, while you are the descendant of-"

"Foxes?" The Prince interrupted, a fabricated expression of pain and betrayal carved into his face as he turned back towards her with his limp left paw on his chest. "My Princess, I thought you were above insulting me by my species!"

"For your information, I was going to call you the kit of mere nobles," She fondly chided as she moved her left foot behind her and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"A noble is still a noble," The Prince wryly informed, shrugging as he turned back towards her with his sword to his side. "So if you ever have the desire to read a _true_ novel about nobles and romance then take it from _this_ noble that " _The Darkest of Nights_ " is a masterpiece. It is vulpine love, but I'm sure you can handle such a _beast_."

"I shall keep it in mind," Judy eagerly promised, grinning while her mind marked the name of the novel and imagined the heated scenes held within it, but eventually she ended her somewhat lewd imagination and drew out her sword from her own sheath. "Now, are we going to duel one another or chatter all night long?"

"I'd prefer the latter anytime," The Prince mumbled under his breath, and Judy smirked, amused and stirred by his pettiness, and began to eagerly yet crudely circle her heavy practice sword in front of her in anticipation.

"The art of fighting with a true weapon - not that the rapier isn't a true sword, mind you, but one that is commonly used on the field of battle - begins with the learner recounting what they have learned while fighting in a dueling style," The Prince explained, spinning his sword with his wrist as he casually walked towards her from the other side of the massive room, and Judy curtly nodded in wordless response.

"Then I shall keep on my feet," She told him, refusing to let her eyes venture away from his informative expression. "Use my size to my advantage, and when I see an opportunity _strike!_ "

In one swift movement she lunged at the air, extending her sword in front of her as if it were her rapier, but she couldn't hold it out for more than a second before her arm began to violently tremble and fall towards the ground.

 _Sweet Cheese, that blade is heavy_ _!_ She silently exclaimed, a startled expression suddenly entrenched on her face, and as she fumbled with her blunted blade she caught the Prince smirking and raising his own sword.

"Do not think of it as an extension of your arm you use to drive an enemy to the ground," He explained, swiftly slashing the blade from side to side with his left paw behind his back. "A short sword is a weapon you use to kill and maim, not corner. Attack me and try to put me into a lethal position."

Judy nodded, her mind attentive to her fiance's instruction, and after several seconds of silently plotting a strategy she charged towards him with a chain of quick steps and with her sword's blade held out to her side. The Prince remained absolutely motionless at her attack, instead only watching her with his relaxed green gaze even as she leaped into the air and drifted through it until she was next to his exposed side. She almost smiled at how easy it had been to approach him, and with one focused swing she swiped at his partially-covered neck.

Yet at the last second he spun towards her, his face no more than a flash of orange and cream white, and in one massive strike the sword was knocked from her paw and she was left uncoordinated and stunned. She could sense the marble floor quickly approaching and could hear blood roaring in her ears along with the loud clings of her blade bouncing away, but in the instant she expected herself to painfully crash into it she felt paws wrap around her back and hindquarters, catching her. She pulled herself up towards her catcher almost instantly, wrapping her legs and arms around his chest and waist, and as her head flicked upwards and her purple eyes connected with his humored green ones she could feel her heart skip a beat.

"You were far too slow striking me," The Prince slyly commented, visibly amused as she awkwardly latched onto him, yet he kept her close to his chest so that their chestplates rubbed against one another. "Next time, come in close enough so that you can quickly and lethally _strike!_ "

Judy flinched away from the Prince as he snapped his sharp, pearly-white jaw mere centimeters away from her madly twitching nose. Her heart was still beating as if it were a war drum, but now it was more because of her excitement rather than her fear of falling.

"You are a very sly fox, my Prince Wilde," She racily commented, pulling herself closer to him and the deliciously alcoholic, incense-filled scent wafting off him, and his smile became lustful as his long, well-groomed tail came up from between his legs to wrap around her fluffy tail and further push her groin into his. "Maybe too sly."

"And you are too foolish," The Prince countered, sliding his paw resting on her lower back upwards to stroke her cheek while his thumb gently ran over her half-healed cut. "A foolish, foolish rabbit. Maybe you need to be taught a lesson, you _dumb_ _bunny_."

"Maybe I do, you sly fox," She naughtily breathed, leaning in further towards the Prince's sharp muzzle, and he smiled as he lustfully moved his lips even closer to hers. For her, this euphoric moment was more than she could handle, yet she pursued the kiss nonetheless. Her heart knew that in the instant their lips connected sparks would fly like lightning, and the purple fire that burned for him inside her would grow to even greater proportions. Time slowed down as she closed her eyes, and for just a moment it was only her and Prince Wilde, warm and passionate in their risque embrace. It was perfect...

"Ahem," A voice suddenly called out, and Judy whirled her startled gaze towards the top of the marble stairwell in unison with the Prince, where a short, jewelry-covered bengal fox was standing wide-eyed and frowning.

"Ambassador Dhani!" Both she and Prince Wilde jointly exclaimed in awkward surprise, and they both turned to anxiously stare at one another as he dropped her down onto her feet, prematurely ending their embrace. Judy could feel regret building inside of her, but as she clutched her paws and turned her eyes back towards the ambassador the feelings were quickly drown by sheer and utter shame.

"I wasn't expecting to see you tonight!" The Prince merrily proclaimed, his paws falling behind his back as he slowly wandered towards the short, stern fox. Judy knew that underneath his short fur his cheeks would be a bright red, just like hers, but she refused to leave his side even as the Ambassador's critical gaze moved to rest on her face.

 _It's always when we're close that someone interrupts!_ She gruffly declared, her bright red ears falling behind her head while her paws clutched one another even tighter as they limply hung in front of her groin.

"What brings you to my suite tonight, Ambassador?" She pried with as much of a formal expression as she could muster from underneath her rosy cheeks. Ambassador Dhani remained sullen at her question, his paws clutched behind his long skirt while his golden and silver necklaces hung on his shirtless chest like stars in the night sky. His eyes were darting between hers and the Prince's incessantly, and when he let loose a nearly-silent scowl Judy felt the nervous smile on her face grow tenfold.

"I won't ask what premarital sins you two were about to begin," He sternly grumbled, raising his chin as his expression became contained. "But the courtier has finally arrived. The battle at Moorston has been concluded, and Lord Caer defeated. The Emperor, the King, and the Marshals have all requested your presences in the strategy room."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this! Sorry about the 4 day late arrival!**

 **[1] - Rhyming Scheme A-B-B-B-C-C-D-D-E-E-E-A. This is true for the second section as well, albeit it is not as well constructed.**

 **[2] - Pun on _Sahara_ (camels + sahara). The Northern Camhara (Ca-ma-ra) can be considered "North Africa" in our world, and the Empire's territories along it various metropolitan enclaves (Such as modern-day cities like Algiers and Tunis). **

**Rewritten 6/26**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Back again, back again! Fun times ahead!**

 **The support for this story from all of you is astounding; already 300 followers and 200 favorites while the story is only 50k words long (with probably another ~100000 or so to go!).**

 **Despite these numbers, there aren't as many comments as I would like. Am I complaining? Of course not! But I require feedback if I wish for my writing skills to improve further, so please, wail away at me or shower me in requests!**

 **Well, you probably don't read these, do you? Oh well! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **IMPORTANT EDIT**

 **Over these past few weeks, my chapters have been released about 4-6 days late. I am extremely regretful about this, however over the past month I have had two surgeries that have left me in a fair amount of pain and unable to write efficiently. I find that it takes an extremely long time to do anything of usefulness, and as such it takes me an exceedingly great amount of time to write something that isn't complete garbage. I am sorry if these late releases have caused you any hardship or sorrow, however I can assure you that once I have fully recovered my punctuality will return again.**

* * *

"I am proud of you, Prince," The Emperor delightedly announced without warning, and Nick straightened his already perked ears and moved his eyes away from the busy room and onto the calm vulpine face staring at the tumultuous scene before the both of them.

"For what, my Emperor?" He questioned, one of his eyebrows raising in interest.

"All of this," The Emperor answered, finally turning his friendly green gaze towards him as he motioned to the entire length of the room with his armored paw. Nick shifted on his feet and turned his head towards the sight that made his predecessor so pleased, keeping his ears tilted towards him while he swept his gaze over the room filled with rabbits and foxes deep in their own conversations.

"Your handling of the Moorston Rebellion has earned you the respect of a great number of mammals who would not have supported you before," The Emperor elaborated, his voice satisfied, as Nick let his gaze travel over the dozens of well-dressed rabbits packed into the strategy room who were all crowded around the central table. "You have not only proven yourself as a capable strategists again but also as an exceptional administrator. I am overjoyed to call you my heir."

"Thank you, my Emperor," Nick politely thanked with a small bow as his calculating eyes turned away from the Marshals and Advisers seated at the long table and to a compact mix of rabbits and foxes leaning over the far end of the table. Along the borders of the small group were Ambassador Dhani, Lord Younce, and King Hopps, all intently staring down at a faded map while Princess Hopps, still donning her steel chestplate and ruby-red dress, leaned over it and motioned to various parts with her grey paw. Even from here, from just inside the room's arched entrance, her amethyst-like eyes beckoned him to approach while her soft grey fur, illuminated by the first signs of sunlight washing in through the window behind her like the ocean's tide, dared him to run his velvety paws over every inch of her body.

It was obvious she had caught him staring; Nick could spot the first signs of red bubbling in her straightened ears, but she didn't dare look at him, instead letting a nervous smile crawl onto her face as she continued to motion to points on the map.

"I feel as if you care about her validation more than mine," The Emperor noted with lighthearted suspicion and a small nod towards her, his paws falling behind his back as his plate armor creaked, and Nick smiled at his statement, not daring to move his glowing gaze off of the Princess's twitching nose and round cheeks.

"Maybe I do," He wryly countered, turning to look up at the Emperor's amused gaze with a sly expression. The massive fox chuckled aloud, a grin on his grey muzzle, but under the liveliness of his face Nick could see weariness and the slightest twinge of concern.

"You look at Princess Hopps with hunger, Prince Piberius," The Emperor anxiously stated, clearing his throat as his eyes flicked around the room. "In volatile times like these, maybe it would be for the best if you the both of you are married in the most timely manner."

"We could begin the process of arranging a ceremony after Lord Caer has had justice enacted upon him," Nick courteously suggested, pushing his lustful thoughts of the Princess into the furthest recesses of his mind and locking them away as a small grin appeared on his snout. "And please, for the time being, call me Prince Wilde."

"As you wish," The Emperor conceded, the apprehension under his facial fur and in his voice slowly retracting like poison from a wound. "And that will give you and Princess Hopps ample time to prepare such a principal ceremony for our species. As for Lord Caer, I'm entrusting you to deal with him accordingly through a public tribunal."

"Me?" Nick repeated, partially stunned and surprised by the Emperor's secession of power, and he whirled his head around to stare at his beaming face with wide eyes, straight ears, and an erect tail. "My Emperor, you and King Hopps should be the voices of judgement in Lord Caer's trial! I am but the Prince-"

"Who shall one day be the Emperor of foxes and the King of rabbits," The Emperor interrupted, lazily tilting his amused gaze towards his. "Both King Hopps and I have agreed; this rebellion is but one test of your future skills - a test that you have used to pull our two species closer. It is an excellent learning experience not only for you but for all who will reside in our unified kingdom. You must finish what you have started. The trial is yours to decide."

Nick kept his stunned emeralds locked with the Emperor's, still hardly believing how much more power he now weld. The Emperor - the most powerful of all foxes, and in that case, canines - had stepped down from his role as judge and had elevated him to the same position. Even if it was for just one rebellious lord, how much more power would he relinquish to him in future days, when his strength began to wane?

But all of this newfound authority would be naught if peace could not be achieved. With one glance towards the red-clad doe still standing over the map, whose eyes still shone with strength and perfected beauty, Nick cleared his throat and collected himself.

"If I am to take your and King Hopps's place, my Emperor, then I request that Princess Hopps be in attendance as my equal," He formally requested, his paws flexing behind his back, and the Emperor turned to him with a finger resting on his chin and his ears perked in interest. "She is quickly becoming a cunning strategist whose input is vital to me, and with your and the King's approval as well as her willingness I would like to have her by my side."

"I see no reason to object to this," The Emperor stated with a small shrug, and Nick felt a small pulse of relief travel up his spine, relaxing his ears before immediately perking them again as the Emperor leaned over to him with a grin.

"When I was young I believed no vixen would ever earn my respect," He reminisced, his eyes filled with memory as they darted to lock with his. "Then I met your father's bride. Ambassador Wilde is quite the vixen. It is because of her I no longer doubt the strength of the opposite sex."

"Ever since my father's passing I have thought the very same thing," Nick agreed, smiling, and the Emperor chuckled as he pulled away from him.

"I shall speak to the King on the matter now," He reassured, his green eyes returning to his, but they soon rose to stare at something behind him as he continued to back away. "Maybe sooner than I was expecting. My Prince, Marshal Certus has arrived."

Nick spun on the balls of his feet to face the room's arched entryway, his paws still hanging behind his back and a respectful yet eager expression emerging onto his face when he caught sight of the armored fox approaching from the wide, well-lit hallway. As of the last courtier that had arrived mere minutes before the force returning from Moorston was still a night's march away from the palace. The Marshal's unexpected presence combined with the weary yet pleased smile on his muzzle were more than enough to stir his own curiosity and push for answers.

"Maybe the courtier system needs a reformation," He quietly noted with a cheerful grumble, stepping forward with a wide smile to bow his head at the tall bengal fox whose steel armor was coated in a thin layer of wetness, and the Marshal sent him the same courtesy. "Marshal Certus! It is a joy to see you once more! As of the last messenger you were still a night's march away."

"That is true, my Prince Piberius, but when one is coming home from a victory they can inspire those under their command to commit great feats of marching," Marshal Certus gleefully informed, and in the torchlight Nick could see the smallest of bags under his eyes. The dirtied fox deserved a restful night after such an occasion.

"I trust that Marshal Fenus and Lord West were not far behind you?" Nick politely inquired, not bothering to correct the fox as they turned away from the arched entrance with his left paw and tail guiding the Marshal into one of the room's less noisy corners.

"They shall arrive with Lord Caer and his bloodline in their custody by no later than midday tomorrow," He explained, his paws falling behind his back in a respectful gesture as his warm expression became organized. "I departed from Moorston earlier than them as to secure the roads while they dealt with the dead and Caer's soldiers."

"How many fell in the battle?" Nick unenthusiastically inquired, his ears stiffening while his tail stopped swishing back and forth across the stone floor.

"Forty foxes of the garrison in Moorston, twenty from the Fourth Army's detachment, a small number from the Second Army's dispatch, and a hundred of Lord West's forces," Marshal Certus solemnly listed, and Nick felt a weight lift from his chest at the relatively small figures. "Lord Caer's forces lost far more than all of our losses combined, but I can assure you no rabbit was killed unnecessarily and all prisoners were released, just as you commanded."

"You follow my orders well, my Marshal Certus," Nick congratulated with a contented smile, raising his paw to pat the fox's armored shoulder. "Now go and rest. You shall need your strength if you are to testify tomorrow."

"I shall," Marshal Certus wearily and almost thankfully conceded, taking a backwards step towards the arched exit with his head lowered in a bow. With one last courteous smile Nick paced away from him and turned, aiming to tell the other Marshals seated around the center of the table of the pleasing news, but he almost jumped out of both his armor and his fur when he nearly collided with a red-clad figure who had soundlessly slipped up behind him.

It was Princess Hopps, with her right paw resting on her hip and a humored grin on her muzzle while her eyes stared at his bristling tail. Even though not one of the other rabbits or foxes in the room were paying attention to the two of them Nick could still feel heat building up underneath his cheeks at being caught off guard by someone whose scent was so familiar to him. Next time an international situation was underway during the same night they had a meal planned he'd have to remember to _not_ drink an entire flaskfull of wine as he had done tonight.

"It is only me, my Prince Wilde," Princess Hopps jokingly began, her warm eyes flicking upwards to stare into his.

"And such a beautiful mammal is supposed to put me at ease?" He jovially asked, raising a salicious eyebrow, and the Princess scoffed as she crossed her arms over her steel chestplate and as her ears became ever so slightly tainted with pink.

"Emperor Canus tells me you wish for me to be by your side during Lord Caer's sentencing," She began, her flushed cheeks slowly cooling. "With my father's blessing I gladly accept your request. But why didn't you bring up the idea over our dinner?"

"I must admit that I did not know myself I would be overseeing the trial until only a few minutes ago. Besides, you were there," Nick answered with a shrug and a raise of his paw, deliberately keeping his voice as suggestive as he could without making it lewd, and the Princess's eyes widened and her ears became limp behind her back at the tone. "Would you have rather been discussing politics or 'sparring' when the Ambassador interrupted us?"

Even though she didn't utter a word Nick could tell what the Princess's answer was. It was pulsing out of her scent. The musty smell from their nigh-sensual dueling was still stuck to his armor like a wet dream in the mind, and above all the other smells of the room his attentive nose could smell fresh signs of the very same scent wafting off her dress. Based on her twitching nose and frightened eyes the Princess had just noticed the spike in the smell too, because within an instant she had her paws clasped together over her groin and her guilt-stricken eyes staring downwards at the floor.

 _Do not fret, my Princess._ Nick thought to himself, his ears falling behind his head and his face becoming hot as traces of his own lustful scent began to spill out from under his armor. _I would have made the same decision._

But before either of them could defuse the situation Princess Hopps turned her apprehended gaze upwards before she straightened herself and stiffened her ears, suddenly alerted to something behind him, and once again Nick found himself following her gaze towards the room's arched entrance.

"It appears you have a visitor, my Prince," She pointed out with a nod towards Marshal Certus, who had yet to leave the room and who was facing the both of them with his ears perked in fascination, and Nick nodded in agreement.

"It appears so," He confirmed, tightly clutching his paws behind his back as he tried to brush off his own dirty scent with several sweeps of his tail across his leather skirt. The Princess's soothing yet painfully humiliated eyes slowly wandered back to his gaze, and as he stared into the deep pools of purple and the small red cut accompanying them he could feel the heat flee from his face and a smirk take its place. He was a fool sending someone so exceptional out of his company.

"Please inform the Marshals that casualties were low," He politely requested in farewell, taking a step away from the Princess, and she turned away from him silently with a quick nod and a newly emerged guiltily pleasured smile of her own. Her scent trailed behind her as if she was his quarry and he a hunter, and as he backed towards the Marshal he found he couldn't move his eyes off her slim body and her alluring white tail.

"Quite the mammal," Marshal Certus eventually commented when he came into speaking distance, and Nick came to a stop beside him as he watched the Princess's long, slender ears fade into the throngs of the lords'.

"Indeed," He longingly agreed, feeling his chest began to hurt from his heart's beats. He had never been more attracted to anyone else - rabbit or fox - than right this second; but maybe that was just the wine and cinnamon from earlier in the night speaking.

"It is a shame she is making you weak," Marshal Certus unexpectedly added, and Nick tensed every muscle in his body and whirled his gaze over his shoulder to stare at his calm face.

"Excuse me?" He demandingly interrogated with a confused frown, completely alerted and disturbed by the Marshal's outburst. What did he mean ' _weak_ '? If she had done anything it had been make their bond stronger!

But the bengal fox didn't respond, instead turning and striding out of the room and past the spear-armed foxes guarding it with a flick of his tail, ushering him to follow. Nick obliged with a final glance towards the Princess, who had resumed her place motioning over a map with the King and the Emperor to her sides, before he hurried out into the wide, marble-floored hallway hot on the Marshal's heels.

"Explain yourself, Marshal Certus!" He growled in annoyance and confusion once they were secluded from the noises of the strategy room, and as they came to a stop at an open-aired veranda that overlooked the darkened rolling fields that led southward Marshal Certus leaned over a small wooden table and picked up two chalices in his paws, the cups having been left there filled with what smelled to be wine.

"What has she done for you aside from distract you and waste time you could have used managing our Empire?" He rhetorically asked, his auburn eyes scouring the dark, cloud-covered sky for something unseen as he passed one of the cups to him. "When you and I and the other Marshals were planning the campaign against Lord Caer the strength you projected was earth-shattering. I must admit I was genuinely frightened by your authority, and after word reached my ears of the Princess's debacle outside the Palace walls and how you singlehandedly dealt with her violators my admiration for your strength only grew. Alas, now that I have returned and witnessed you in the Princess's company, I can securely state that I am not as inspired as I once was."

"Your inspiration doesn't concern me!" Nick sharply yelled, a pumping desire to defend the Princess's reputation rising up within his ribcage at the same time his tail threateningly lowered towards the ground. "I don't give a flick of my ears if you're _inspired_ by me or _deterred_! I shall not waste my time wine tasting and debating fruitlessly with you! Your loyalty lies with the Empire!"

"And that loyalty is unwavering, I can assure you," Marshal Certus hurriedly acknowledged with a slight bow of his head. "But I am afraid that the peace our government speaks of will never come into fruition. The Princess-"

"Is vital to achieving peace," Nick bitterly interrupted, flicking his ear in annoyance as he took a step closer to the Marshal, who was still facing the open air as he managed a quick sip of his drink. "If you are suggesting that I remove her from her position at my side, then you are greatly misinterpreting your powers."

"My Prince," Marshal Certus carefully continued with a reformed expression, taking a long time to think about his words. "I mean you no disrespect. I bow to your decision to invite Princess Hopps into a more permanent position within our great government. Indeed, she must be the Empress of the Empire if we are to truly have peace. But if you let your feelings for her drive your actions, as they have tonight, then peace will continue to drift further and further afar. The more days and nights you spend with her in the comfort of romantic affection the less time you are given to hammer out the refined shield of peace. My Prince, I am in no means opposed to your and the Princess's union. I am merely concerned about the safety and _peace_ of the Empire. Now, will you have a drink?"

Nick remained silent as he stared at the Marshal, whose tail was still swishing back and forth across the ground with impeccable consistency, with his eyes in an suspicious squint as he took a begrudging sip of his glass. He could feel his fiance's gentle gaze still staring into his as she lay atop his chest in the early morning light. Her soft fur brushed against him as if she were a water nymph, tussling his tail in delightfully sensitive ways. But the glorious feeling of her warm body soon disappeared, leaving him in the coolness of his wine glass. The night reflected out of its red depths; dark and endless like it always remained. So many he had seen in his lifetime. Yet all untouched by the horrors of war.

"I will take what you have said into consideration, Marshal Certus," He hesitantly admitted, and at his answer the Marshal's ears perked and he turned to face him with a delighted expression.

"That is good to hear," He confirmed, his voice pleased, and with a quick turn on his feet and a swish of his tail he departed down the moonlit hallway with his glass in paw. Nick watched him grow more and more distant until he eventually turned down a side hallway and disappeared from sight. He devoured the surplus of wine that remained in his goblet in a single gulp before he sat it down on the wooden table across from him with a loud clank, turning towards the moon with his paws crossed over the stone railing.

The longer and longer he thought about the Marshal's warning - albeit an unusual one - the more and more his body stiffened to the ever brightening sunlight. The Princess was strong; she would be intelligent enough to develop new skills on her own, without his guidance or support. The Marshal was correct in his worries - peace could only be established if he dedicated his full self to making it work, regardless of what lengths he had to go to achieve it.

A subtle pang of pain erupted in his heart at that thought, but with a grim growl and a clenched fist he suppressed it. He couldn't spare energy for what he wanted. Only what the Empire wanted.

* * *

Judy could hardly contain herself now that she had been escorted to sit beside the Prince. From the stone throne she was sitting on atop the raised brick platform at the room's head every other mammal in the throne room was suddenly below her, leaving her feeling like a mammal of importance.

It wasn't as if she hadn't felt this before. But now that she was here, with all the Burrow's lords seated along the benches on the right side of the room and all the Marshals and other vulpine officials on the left, her heart was beating out from behind her red dress and her paws were damp with sweat.

A sleepless night discussing troop movements with her father and a pawful of other Lords and foxes hadn't made her even the slightest part tired. On the contrary, it had made her even more awake and ready for the day!

"How much longer must we wait?" She excitedly yet impatiently asked as she leaned towards the Prince, sitting on his own stone throne directly to her right, and for a moment she didn't know if he had heard her voice above the casual din of the room.

"Until midday," He unenthusiastically answered after a second's silence. His half-lidded gaze was blankly staring at the closed gate at the other end of the room and his paws were limply resting on his throne's stone armrests. He looked entirely defeated by weariness in the morning sunlight, bags from a lack of rest under his eyes, and Judy couldn't help but feel pitied as she stared at him.

"You are looking worn, my Prince," She gently told him, her voice lowered so that only he could hear. She halted her eagerly bouncing leg and moved her right paw off her own armrest to grip his left and intertwine her own fingers with his. His heartbeat was quick yet steady and his paw hot with apprehension, but through his velvety skin she could feel nervous sweat, and at the familiar feeling she let a grimace take hold of her face. Despite their differences in appearance and mind they were still both tense of being in charge of such a decisive trial.

At the onset of their pawhold the Prince straightened his hunched back and looked at her with awake eyes and pointed ears. His tail straightened from the back of his seat to rest atop their entwined paws, invoking an internal _Awwww_ from her.

"Thank you for alerting me," He courteously yet somewhat coldly thanked, curtly nodding his head before he turned his newly-alerted green gaze back to stare across the room. Judy raised an eyebrow at his seemingly detached attitude. She would've expected him to be at least the slightest part opened by her outreach to him! What other troubles had beset his mind? Apprehension about the outcome of the trial? Anxiety about the cold ailing the Emperor that had removed him from attendance?

She opened her mouth to ask and squeezed his paw just that little bit tighter, letting the heat pulsing from it with every heartbeat flow through her own chest, but as soon as she began to voice her concerns the massive doors at the other end of the room creaked open.

She whirled her head around and shifted on her rear at the sharp noise, trying to look as prepared for the trial as her wide-eyed face would let her as two columns of spear and sword armed guards, both rabbits and foxes, marched in evenly filed lines and took their places at each individual column in the room.

The conversations coming from the well-dressed Lords on the benches quieted into silence as a single young, leather-clad red fox accompanied by two larger guards entered the room and approached the throne's stone steps. Judy couldn't name the young fox, who was holding his chin high and kept his tail swishing back and forth against the stone floor, and without letting her formal expression fall from her face she leaned towards the Prince's erect ear.

"Who is that fox?" She quietly asked, her calm eyes studying his smug face.

"Stultus, a former elector," The Prince silently mumbled, his left paw squeezing hers marginally less. "One of the few who remained loyal to the Emperor after he belittled their powers. He is merely representing the ceremonial role as scribe. Please, for the courtesy of the court, hold your tongue."

Judy obeyed his command, albeit with an ever-so-slightly begrudging feeling, and returned to sit completely straight in her own throne. The fox stopped at the first step leading up to the two of them with his arms behind his waist and his hard, lively gaze focused on the stained glass window high above them.

He shouted, or more like chanted, a brief slur of words in the tongue of foxes and bowed to them with a clenched paw on his chest. The Prince saluted him back with his right raw before he replied with the same phrase in a much calmer tone. Without another word the fox nodded, his eyes still not daring to stare at either her or the Prince, and he walked to stand at the leftmost side of the room with the other foxes of the Empire's court. The two guards accompanying him dispersed as well, moving to stand at either side of the steps leading up to the throne.

 _At last!_ Judy eagerly exclaimed, perking her ears even more than she already had, when her father, accompanied by even more guards and a small detachment of regal-looking foxes behind him, emerged from the hallway and marched towards the throne's steps. He was dressed in a fine gold and red robe while his unmistakable golden crown sat atop his head like a branch upon a tree, and as he strode across the floor with long, powerful strides several whispers of support materialized from the Lords in the tongue of rabbits.

"My Prince Piberius and my Princess Hopps," He respectfully greeted in an amicable tone, bowing his head and shutting his attentive, hazel eyes in a courtly gesture, and both she and the Prince returned the courtesy with bows of their own. "I hereby grant you the powers of prosecution on this day. May you use them wisely."

"Thank you, my King Hopps," The Prince thanked, bowing his head a second time, and Judy felt his paw urging her on with a stiff squeeze.

"We will use this honor only with great caution," She graciously added, following the Prince's example and bowing her head again, and King Hopps sent her a beaming smile before he strode to the right of the throne to rest his rear on a slightly less impressive wooden chair, leaving the remaining foxes and rabbits behind him to approach.

At the forefront was Marshal Fenus and Lord West, almost identical in fur color and height but both at the opposite ends of the attire spectrum. Behind them was the Marshal who had disrupted her and the Prince's exchange in the very early hours of the morning; as far as she knew his name was Certus, still in the armor he was wearing the night before. To his side was Lady Caer, a beautiful maiden no older than she was. The last living relative of Lord Caer, and judging by her reddened eyes and half-horrified half-grievous expression that honor was just as terrible as it seemed. She could only feel pity for her, but that feeling hastily abandoned her when she caught sight of a rabbit hunched over behind her with guards surrounding on every side.

 _Lord Caer._ She distrustfully scorned with a disturbed flick of her ear. The accused rabbit was dressed in little more than a brown doublet. His head was facing the ground, but even from above she could see a spiteful and furious expression entrenched onto his face. His paws were bound with a rope behind his back and his steps were more like slow slides across the stone floor, reluctant to approach the throne but spurred onward by the guards around him.

Judy could feel her nose pulling back in disgust and a frown forming on her brow as his violent amber eyes suddenly jumped to stare into hers. How could such an aged and experienced rabbit who was once so respected turn into such a backwards, irrational mammal? It was a horrid and tremendously disturbing deterioration.

"I bid thee hospitality, Lord West, Marshal Certus, and Marshal Fenus," The Prince greeted, and the three mammals all readily lined up and bowed to their knees before him. "I congratulate you on your quick and painless victory. Our realm will once again see peace."

"As they will," They all replied, their voices combining into a single, powerful force, and Lord West stepped forward from his bow while Marshal Fenus and Marshal Certus stepped backwards and brought forward Lord and Lady Caer.

"We shall give our account of the battle, my Prince, if it will please you," Lord West began, his paws raising out to motion at the two grey rabbits standing to each of his sides. "Here stand the accused. Lord Arthur Caer and Lady Vivian Caer."

"Lord Caer, your crimes constitute conspiring against the realm, leading an armed revolt against your sovereign, murdering soldiers in a time of peace, and disrupting the execution of justice," The Prince aggressively listed, his expression and voice as dark as night, and Judy felt him squeeze her paw yet again, signalling it was her time to speak.

"Lady Caer, you stand accused of nothing aside from being the granddaughter of this savage," She authoritatively continued, her eyes studying Lady Caer's young yet defeated face, fresh from crying, and the wet stains of dampness on her grey cheeks and at the bust of her tangerine dress. "You are free to do what you wish."

Lady Caer began to wheeze with grief at her exoneration, and Judy watched with clenched fists as she collapsed to her knees and descended into a hysterical fit of sobbing and whimpering. Without taking more than a moment to think about her actions she shot up from her throne, ending her and the Prince's pawhold, and hurried down the steps to wrap her arms around her feeble body and press her chin into the top of her head. She wasn't spurred by some divine mandate that she had to help any mammal who was so stricken; it was more of a motherly obsession, a desire to comfort someone who had been so through so much hardship. In a way, the Lady reminded her of herself in the darkest moments of the war, when each day brought another dead brother or family friend and its own tidal wave of sorrow.

"Thank you, my Prince and Princess," Lady Caer weakly managed to say, and Judy silenced a small number of grumbles emerging from the Lords behind her with a pointed _SHH!_ The few voices speaking died immediately, and she instinctively turned her gaze back towards the Prince, who was watching her and and the Lady with a clenched paw on his armrest and his brow furrowed in a dignified yet critical manner.

"I owe your worships a number of thanks innumerable," Lady Caer continued, turning her pitiful amber gaze upwards to indecisively whisk between her and the Prince. "But I must plead for one more favor. Lord Caer has been driven mad by his own despair. It is not his own fault that he rose up in arms against the King. He is a feeble old rabbit made insane by a tumultuous war, who harbors no sense of right and wrong! Please, I beg you, spare him from a tortuous demise! Spare his life!"

"I shall not be some object to be bartered for!" A heavy voice suddenly interrupted, beginning in a slow, quiet manner before rapidly escalating into a earsplitting roar. Judy could almost hear all the gazes and ears in the room - including her own - fly towards Lord Caer, who had shot up and boldly taken a threatening step towards the throne. His expression was more hateful than before, his entire demeanor having shifted from defeated to rebellious.

"Kneel before your Prince and Princess!" Marshal Fenus wrathfully growled, striking the side of his head with his gauntlet and sending him tumbling onto his knees. Lord Caer's irate expression became even more inflamed by the strike, and in one swift motion he leaped to his feet, towering over the short fox, and menacingly bared his teeth. Judy could hear Lady Caer whimpering and feel her squirming as unarmed guards rushed towards him, pulling him away from the Marshal as he thrashed back and forth, and she pulled the miserable rabbit closer towards her steel chestplate and pushed her chin further into the top of her head.

"Lord Caer, your prolonged defiance will only land you a harsher punishment," King Hopps solemnly informed as he stood from his elevated wooden chair. His expression was grievous yet forgiving, but that did little to combat Lord Caer's riotous struggling.

"A punishment for what, My King?" The rabbit venomously spat out, still trying to break free of the guards keeping him bent at the throne's steps. "For attempting to restore honor to my species and purge this _rabble_ of scum from the face of the Earth? I think not! I shall not have my life begged for by some _whore_ comforted by a _whorish_ Princess and her _savage_ Prince!"

Judy could feel and hear Lady Caer's sobs turn even more miserable, but before she could refute the insult the Prince steadily rose from the throne, his hard, cold eyes locked with Lord Caer's bristling facial fur. The voices of outrage echoing from both sides of the room fell silent along with his paw, now resting on the hilt of his sheathed short sword.

"Lord Caer, your guilt was decided the moment you took up arms against the honorable King Hopps," He austerely announced, but Lord Caer began to deviously laugh above his voice, enticing a frustrated frown to form atop his brow. "You shall remain silent until the Marshals and Lord West have recounted your rebellion!"

"You wish to know about my actions, my _divine_ fiend, then I will tell you of them!" The psychotic rabbit hissed, throwing himself forward at the Prince only to be pulled back into place by the guards. "I rallied all the males within my holdings that your species hadn't massacred and armed them with the glorious tools of war! We marched, fought, and lost against traitors and thieves! Cut down by our own species! I should have killed every last one of you at the Siege of Wien, all those long years ago, when victory was a mere arm length's away from my grasp! I only regret one of my 'crimes', my friend; I wish I had hired more brigands to kill you and your little _inter_ - _species_ plaything!"

Judy felt her jaw drop to her feet along with her ears, and from every corner of the room shouts of shock and fury erupted. She let a shocked yet infuriated expression take hold of her face as Lord Caer turned to look at her, his amber eyes filled with hate and his grimace as evil as a dungeon, and with all her might she tried to suppress the desire to attack him with her clenched fists. _He_ was the mammal who had sent thieves to take her life and who had put her through all that hardship? Her bruises had yet to fully heal and the scar on her face was still red with blood!

"Attempted regicide is a capital punishment!" The Prince furiously exclaimed, taking the words right out of her mouth. His green eyes were red with the rawest of fire and his tail was bristling with rage, yet this didn't seem to cast any shadow on the Lord's anger, even as he drew out the polished blade from his sheath with a menacingly sharp sound.

"Then I should be killed," Lord Caer spat back, his smile only growing as he writhed in another vain attempt to break free of the guards restraining him. "But I won't be executed by some _fox_. I was born in war, and by God I shall die in war! I challenge you, Prince Piberius, to the Zweikampf!"

"No!" Lady Caer wretchedly shrieked, launching herself up from the floor and rushing towards the Prince, but Judy pulled her dress back towards her and held her in her arms. She stooped over, crying, her eyes tightly shut and her arms wrapped around herself in a feeble hug, yet no other mammal seemed to notice her outburst against the fresh chaos taking place all around the room.

Motionless in the throngs of rabbits and foxes coming from the sides of the place was the Prince, still staring after Lord Caer even as two well-dressed rabbits - undoubtedly her brothers - pulled him away from the guards and escorted him towards the room's entrance and out into the hallway. His sharp, orange face remained deathly still and silent for several seconds, even as several foxes surrounded him and began to hurriedly speak in their tongue, and without as much as a glance in her direction, much less an explanation of what had suddenly transpired, he rushed off after Lord Caer with his sword sheathed and Marshals Certus and Citus to his sides.

"What is the Zweikampf, my Lady?" Judy anxiously asked, a confused frown on her brow, and she tightened her comforting grip around Lady Caer when all the rabbit did was feebly shake her head and squeeze herself even tighter. "A duel? A contest? Please, answer me!"

"It is the oldest duel," A grim voice informed, and Judy turned her head to see her father steadily staring down at her with two forbidding eyes. "From the time before the war, when our Kingdom was but in its infancy and the Empire was a small conglomeration of tribes."

"So why is there backlash to it?" She hurriedly asked, her confusion not yet sated.

"Because it is an honorless duel," King Hopps went on, his ears falling behind his head and what little light was left in his face dissipating into darkness. "Emperor Canus, may health return to him, despises it with every inch of his being. There are no requirements, referees, or attendants. The solitary regulation is that only one of the two duelers may leave the field alive."

"What!?" Judy frantically exclaimed, a horrified expression on her face as she launched herself to her feet and whirled her entire body around to face the throngs of mammals departing through the throne room's doors. Using her experienced hearing and completely stiff ears she homed in on Marshal Fenus's voice within the commotion, and with quick, agile strides she propelled herself through the sea of armor and colored fabrics until the short fox's massive ears came into view.

"My Prince!" She loudly shouted, her tiny heart apprehensively pulsing at the same rate the Prince's tail was visibly swishing back and forth across the ground from in-between the Marshals' feet. She briefly lost sight of the group as she pushed through two well-armored arctic foxes following behind them, but when it came back into view the Marshals following the Prince were staring at her with interested expressions and perked ears, all seemingly alerted by her presence save for her fiance.

Even Marshal Fenus had slowed his pace, leaving a gap in the convoy so she could push through and confront her betrothed. She accepted the opportunity with panicked zeal, taking the lead so that she and her fiance were face to face while she backed up on her toes.

"My Prince, you cannot take part in this- this- this archaic monstrosity!" She agitatedly exclaimed, only now realizing how truly vehement her feelings for him were when confronted with the thought of never being united with him. "I shall not let you risk your entire being just to discipline an unruly rabbit!"

"This needs to be done, Princess Hopps," The Prince flatly growled, the fire in his eyes seething with utter determination and his clenched paws hanging behind his waist ushering in new waves of anger. "Such an obstreperous, contumacious, and sanguinary sadist must be dealt with in the harshest manner necessary. I'm disillusioned you don't support this challenge, given how he has tortured you."

"It's not that I don't want to see him punished," She trepidatiously ventured, her ears burning with fear and her sullen gaze still not daring to move from the Prince's sharp face even as they turned down a hallway leading away from the throne room, leaving the Marshals behind the corner. "But-"

"There are no 'buts', Princess Hopps!" The Prince suddenly hissed, pushing her up against the wall so they were pressed together and so that his mouth's moon-white serrations were no more than an inch away from the tip of her twitching nose and startled eyes. "Whatever fears you may have that my ability will fail are wrongly found. I shall win, and I shall execute justice - not just on your behalf, mind you, but on all the foxes and rabbits who were slain at the feet of this madmam. All I require is for you to be silent about your unfounded worries and woes and let me attend to this situation myself!"

* * *

The Zweikampf was to begin when the afternoon sun was nibbling at the tips of the trees atop the gigantic hills towering over the palace grounds. The two competitors had had all afternoon to prepare for their duel on the green in the center of the Palace Gardens, but that had left Judy tirelessly fretting over the bought.

Her heart was still beating out of her chest, apprehension having seized her like cold water, and as she sat staring at the cordoned off field sprawled out like a blank canvas all she could do to contain the worry building up within her small body was twitch her nose, bob her leg, and grip the wooden armrests of her collapsible chair.

A crowd had gathered around the edge of the field, made up of the Lords and their sons along with many a foxes of all shapes and sizes, some being no more than palace guards while others were directly associated with the Emperor. Speaking of the formidable fox, he was sitting at the far end of the same fabric tarpaulin she was seated under, his leg jolting underneath his unadorned black and green doublet at twice the rate hers was while his tail swung back and forth as if a clock. Upon his face was a gaze just as sullen and wary as hers, the only difference being her hot apprehension was replaced by cool weariness and the dismal look of someone that had caught a sickness. Between the two of them was her father, who was uttering something into his counterpart's orange ear.

"Who do you think shall succeed, Prince Lucas?" An iniquitous and arrogant voice inquired, hushed, dragging Judy's full attention away from her father and to the opposite end of the tarpaulin where her two brothers sat; the taller, Gregory, directly beside her with his mouth turned towards Lucas's ear. "An experienced, respectable Lord or an illegitimate dictator."

"Silence, you two!" She angrily hissed at the both of them, leaning out of her chair as a facade of rage briefly swept over her angst. Prince Lucas, at the far end of the tarpaulin and almost in the heat of the sunlight, jumped at the sound of her angry voice and kept his mouth shut, but it was Prince Gregory that made her grind her armrests with her short claws and force her feet into the mat below when all he did was shrug and turn his mocking gaze back towards the field.

"I am not a religious doe, my Lord," Judy silently whispered, hardly believing a word of what she was saying as she turned her half-furious half-pleading gaze up to the endlessly blue sky while her leg began to bob underneath her red dress once again. "But if you do not protect my Prince when he takes the field, then I shall rain retribution on you from the deepest veins of hell."

As if God himself had heard her threat the thin crowd of nobles at the far left of the field parted, and the mix of malicious, praiseworthy, and excited conversations echoing from all around the clearing increased in both number and volume as Lord Caer, in recently polished plate armor, strode through the gap.

Judy felt her scowl grow exponentially as she stared at his proud, confident face, and as he stalked out into the center of the clearing where two young attendants, one fox and one rabbit, stood waiting with helmets in their paws - all while beaming merrily and spinning on his feet as if he was to be presented with an award - she tightened every muscle in her body and let loose a deep, guttural growl. In his armor he looked half his seventy years, but when her fiery eyes caught sight of the massive longsword gripped in his right paw he lost another ten.

The Prince, on the other paw, looked as if he was a mere teenager. Sometime during her scouring of Lord Caer he had made his way onto the right side of the field from the stone steps leading down from a row of hedges, much to the applause of the crowd. It was feverish shouts of support that made her aware to his awe-inspiring presence, and as she studied his iron-clad form and the brilliant tuft of cream white fur sticking out of the top of his iron breastplate her heart yet again lurched at the thought of possibly losing him.

No matter how much she silently begged for it, he never turned his gorgeous, sunlit face towards her. He kept his course straight, not bothering to show any emotion nor train his eyes and ears on anything other than Lord Caer's malicious grimace except when a courtier rushed him a glass of water from the site where the Marshals had gathered. When he came to a stop mere feet in front of the lord the noisy clamor halted behind him like a herd of elk, quickly dissipating into whispers, and as they stared each other down Judy felt her heart quicken for the hundredth time the afternoon.

They stared at each other with such concealed fire she almost thought their ceremonial longswords would catch flame. The Prince only showed the true passion underneath his heavy plate armor with the swishing of his unarmored tail, the only part of him not covered in the set of heavy steel akin to the Emperor's.

Judy watched intently as Lord Younce, serving as an intermediary between the combatants, quickly and calmly strode across the field until he was between them. He glanced at each of them before he turned in her direction, facing the tarpaulin she and her immediate family were residing under.

"Here watches Princess Hopps, her father King Hopps, her father-in-law Emperor Canus, her brother Prince Gregory, and her brother Prince Lucas," The straightened rabbit loudly introduced, keeping himself calm as the two combatants turned to face them. Lord Caer had his eyes focused right beside her, on Prince Gregory, who merely beamed back at him. Feeling disheartened she turned towards her fiance, but the feeling of loneliness only grew within her as she longingly stared at his stiff face. He hadn't even batted an eye at her, keeping his motionless emeralds aimed at Emperor Canus, who slowly nodded at him in.

 _A nod of what?_ She silently fretted, her mouth becoming cracked in confusion and worry while her pink nose incessantly twitched. She turned her wide eyes back to the Prince, but just as she elevated herself out of her seat to catch his attention he turned away. A tremor shook her heart at his deliberate effort to ignore her, and she fell back to Earth with a partly dejected expression.

What in all of the great green Earth had happened between them? Not even the most insignificant memory from the night prior remained in the Prince's eyes. Had he forgotten their romantic evening that easily? She could understand the stress resting upon him would change his attitude, but there was something ill and almost another worry in itself about how he had treated her specifically, both now and during the trial - with stinging words and a careless attitude, as if she was unknown to him.

Above the critical voices within her skull she didn't hear Lord Younce introduce Lady Caer, seated alone under her own tarpaulin across the field. Her sensitive ears could hear incessant muffled wheezes coming from her, and as she took in her miserable face and dilated amber eyes all she could do was grit her teeth and and turn her gaze away. She had absolutely no desire to hurt the already damage rabbit, but in a case where either her grandfather or her fiance was to be killed she had no choice.

"May the defeated rest in peace. Let the Zweikampf begin!" Lord Younce proclaimed, taking a step back so that he was no long between the two combatants, and he motioned for the two young mammals at either side of the small group to present the Prince and Lord Caer with their helmets. Lord Caer pulled his great helm over his ears and face with a final evil smirk while the Prince took a few extra seconds to secure his perfectly fox-shaped steel helmet onto his face. His ears jutted out of it like orange crags against the blue sky, and with a few extra clicks its leather neckguard was secured onto the rim of his armor, leaving only a minuscule gap of fur jutting out from between the pieces.

At the first contact of their longswords Judy winced, her heart jumping at the sudden sound of steel clashing on steel. Lord Caer took an aggressive stance, keeping his sword either above his helmet or to his side while he struck at the Prince with consistent, sweeping strikes. Her betrothed blocked each one with a strong strike of his own, sending both their swords reeling in return and limiting their hits to once every few seconds.

With a frustrated growl Lord Caer began to advance on the Prince, his armor creaking under the weight of his raised longsword. With each of his strikes that passed the more ranged and risky they became, until every parry the Prince returned sent his entire body reeling backwards, forcing him to hastily rush forward for his next attack.

This uncomfortable stalemate went on until they had traveled a fair distance across the field, with Lord Caer still advancing towards the Prince. It felt to Judy as if their duel would go on for eternity and beyond, yet as fate would have it as soon as that thought had blossomed in her mind the Prince countered his competitor's latest strike with a massive blow, and as the ironclad rabbit stumbled backwards he swept up from his side, his tail trailing behind him as smooth as a wave, and he landed a devastating blow on his right knee with the end of his longsword.

Judy heard the immediate crack of bone breaking echo out of Lord Caer's armor, and as he recollected himself and spun to face the Prince he roared with pain, his right leg bent in a precarious way that blatantly revealed how hard the strike had been. For a moment hope flared inside Judy, and she eagerly perked her ears as Lord Caer took an unsteady step towards her fiance, who was waiting for his next attack with both his gauntlet-clad paws gripping the hilt of his sword.

 _Maybe he won't even suffer a scratch!_ She optimistically ventured, her knee bouncing up and down as quick as he nose twitched and her heart beat. Lord Caer raised his longsword above his head, his broken leg trembling under the weight of it, and the Prince braced himself for another downwards strike from the wounded rabbit. In the instant before he brought down his blade, though, he shifted on his feet. The move was so minor that she herself barely noticed it, but as his sword swung at the Prince from an angle that broke his block she felt her ears collapse behind her head.

His strike was so powerful that the Prince collapsed onto his side, his right paw supporting his body as he fought a losing battle to stay on his feet while his left held his longsword above him to block Lord Caer's inevitable attack.

When the rabbit brought down the swing from directly above the Prince's head Judy felt the urge to screech in sorrow and grief, but at the last moment her fiance swung his head to the side and attempted a pitiful parry. It was enough to avoid a fatal blow. Lord Caer's sword only made a cleft in his flattened left ear, turning its single point into two, before scratching down the side of his helmet with a terrible screech and ripping off the buckles that connected his leather neckguard to the rim of his armor.

The Prince rolled away from Lord Caer as soon as his sword connected with the ground, plunging deep into the brown dirt, and he leaped to his feet with twice as much agility as his plate armor should have given him. His neckguard was hanging off his helmet like a stray hair, revealing his orange and white fur neck for the entire world to see.

Judy breathed a minuscule sigh of relief at the sight of him, more than relieved that he had escaped from his perilous position without more than a cut ear, but the trepidation controlling every aspect of her body reminded her of the massive target that he had painted on his neck as a result.

Lord Caer spent several seconds struggling to pull his blade out of the ground, and the Prince took full advantage of his moment of weakness, landing hit after hit on his hunched back and overextended arms. When he was finally able to regain control of his weapon the Lord immediately began to strike back, growling all the while and ignoring his wounds as if a berserker.

They moved as a single organism across the field, their swords swinging, blocking, and striking before swinging again. The duel seemed to be leaning in the Prince's favor, and as he landed a hit on Lord Caer's head a small exhalation of triumph escaped from Judy's half-open mouth despite the terrified scream from Lady Caer.

But Lord Caer did not succumb so easily; he recovered from the bash almost instantly, and with a stab of his sword that flipped direction mid-swing his blade delved into the Prince's exposed neck fur, piercing him just behind the clavicle.

Judy shot up from her chair instantly, her own horrified gasp so loud that she couldn't hear the other mammals around the field cry out in horror. Her heart skipped beat after painful beat when all the Prince did was sink to his knees, his paw still gripping his sword even as it fell limply to the ground. His head hung from his body as lifelessly as a manikin's and his ears stagnantly sagged behind his helmet while his tail became as limp as a dead snake.

"No..." Was all she managed to mutter above the stinging building up in her eyes and the immense pain in her chest. Nicholas Wilde - the mammal she was to be joined with in holy matrimony - had departed to the realm of the deceased, never to be heard from again. It made her want to let loose a wretched scream and join him with her own blade.

Lord Caer withdrew his blade from the Prince's flesh with tired pants, letting the weapon hang from his paw with as much life as the Prince contained. About an inch of it was bright red while from its tip bright strings of the same color dripped onto the blades of grass below, staining them the menacing shade. The Prince's wound bubbled and burst, his orange fur mixing with the blood pouring from it as it ran across his white chest fur, streaking it a dirty red.

Lord Caer took a step away from him, leaving his feeble form sitting alone in the grass. Judy could feel all the energy leaving her body at his pitiful sight, and with all her might she delayed herself from unceremoniously rushing towards him and holding him in her paws, letting the last of his life flow out onto her. But the stress of holding back was too great for her smashed heart, and with the first salty tears of a flood beginning to run down her cheeks she made the decision to ignore formalities and follow what her shattered chest was telling her to do.

Yet before she had even taken a step towards the Prince he shot up to his feet, his entire body suddenly alive with fire, and a surprised yet joyous choke slipped past her lips at the sight. He took Lord Caer completely off-guard, landing one swift yet brutal upwards strike on his helmet and knocking it off his head to reveal a shocked expression underneath. The rabbit couldn't even raise his own blade as the Prince followed up his strike with another, both his paws gripping the hilt of his sword as he brought it down onto the side of his head. Lord Caer fell to the ground instantly, dropping his sword and letting the impact take its toll on his body.

He landed with a massive thud, his head still raised and facing his attacker as dark red blood welled out from the fresh wound on its side. The Prince held his longsword at his throat, panting heavily and refusing to budge, while his left paw pulled off his helmet to reveal the sharp, battered, but above all pained expression underneath. Judy swore her heart had floated from her chest at the sight of him, and she collapsed back into her chair, unable to stand for even a second longer, with a relieved grin entrenched onto her face.

"I am Prince Piberius of the Empire," The Prince solemnly panted, letting his sword fall from Lord Caer's exposed throat to plunge into the grass while he leaned onto it with both paws. "I am the soldier who has never taken a life, and I do not intend to renounce that title today. Consider yourself defeated, Lord Caer. Justice has been delivered upon you."

Shouts and roars of support suddenly erupted from every corner of the field, and Judy watched with gleeful, watery eyes and a pulsing smile as both rabbits and foxes ran out into the middle of the field to surround the Prince and obstruct him from view. Guards shortly followed the crowd, pulling Lord Caer, who had plunged into a fit of hysteria, up from the ground and slowly escorted him towards the edge of the field. Those who had not gone to congratulate the Prince clapped for him, and she joined them enthusiastically, beginning to bounce up and down on her toes. Even her brothers clapped along, albeit begrudgingly, but right in this moment she didn't quite care; she wasn't sure she had ever felt more relief and joy from any other moment in her life!

Yet the image of her betrothed's nasty wound soon flashed into her mind, and as her smile fell a frightened expression took its place and she rushed out from underneath her shady tarpaulin and into the sunny center of the field, pushing through the throngs of rabbits and foxes excitedly talking to one another in triumph as she frantically searched for the Prince.

She caught sight of him at the far end of the crowd, beside Marshal Certus, slowly limping away with his sword as a crutch and blood still pouring out from his gaping wound. Her heart jolted at the sight of him, and she once again bolted through the audience, uncaring as to who she pushed or threw out of her way. All she wanted was for him to be safe. She couldn't imagine what she'd do to Lord Caer if his wound became egregious. Her heartache would probably drive her to execute him on the spot with her own two paws...

By the time she finally came to the edge of the crowd she had lost sight of the Prince's orange fur once again, and for several moments she frantically searched for him, feeling awful and horribly anxious tears welling up in her eyes. Yet when her eyes found his orange fur and battered armor she went completely limp.

He was bent over in front of Lady Caer, his bloodied sword under his arm while his head was bowed towards her. His armored paws were gripping hers intensely, and he was whispering something to her so touching that from the stunned, shaken look in her wide eyes it was almost romantic. Without warning she plunged her cheek against his, wrapping her paws around his neck as his blood ran down her tangerine dress and as she squeezed her watering eyes shut.

Judy sprinted away from them as quick as her feet would let her. She soon found herself at the top of the long stairs at the edge of the field, rushing through neat, dim hedge after neat, dim hedge as she tried to create as much distance between her and the field as possible.

Her teeth were bared in a terrible, furious expression and her ears were strung out behind her limply like long hair. Her eyes stung with pained tears brought on by the heartache in her chest. Her small body had never contained this much rage in any moment before now; not when the Prince had played with her trust, nor when he had pushed her away from him - the attempt on her life was a dream compared with what she felt now! Her betrothed had taken her heart and _writhed_ it until it had turned to dust. His actions were as if they had never met! This was betrayal in its rawest form. He didn't care about anything but himself! What the hell was he playing at _embracing_ Lady Caer? Was he whorish? What evil whispers had he told her? What luxuries had he promised? She loved him, and he had so easily crushed her love with the _simple_ action of entirely ignoring her existence! On this day he had committed sins against her innumerable! She'd have his tail for this! She'd have his head, if he didn't lose it himself before then!

* * *

 **What a strange turn of events, eh?**

 **Rewritten 6/27**


	10. Chapter Nine

**It's been a while, hasn't it? This past month and a bit has been tumultuous and heated. But I'm back! Chapter 10 should be updated by June 15, but that may change depending on what's to come! I hope you enjoy this chapter (it still needs a hell of a lot of editing) but for now it's workable. Just trust me on the story, alright? All will turn out good in the end :).**

 **Thank you. Thanks a ton for commenting your concerns/compliments of Chapter 8 - I read every comment posted on this story and consider its contents, whether they be critical or complimentary. Its all of you - the readers - that keep this enterprise afloat. If you enjoy it, then keep on commenting, and if you don't then comment even more! All criticism is appreciated, so please, tell me if something's bugging you!**

* * *

"It's treason!" Judy spitefully exclaimed, her eyes red with temper and her ears straightened in indignation while her feet toured her back and forth across her suite's carpeted living space. "I am vociferating it now! There can be no other reason for his recklessness and inconsideration!"

"My Princess Hopps, with great respect I feel as if you are leaping to conclusions," Ambassador Dhani cautiously soothed, standing motionlessly beside a side table with his paws raised out towards her. He almost appeared as if he was afraid to approach her fuming form.

"What other conclusion can be reached?" She venomously hissed, spinning to look at his startled face from halfway across the floor. "He is almost killed in combat and the first thought he has is to _embrace_ another Lady? And now they sit together, locked away in his suite - if his actions are not treasonous then I am as much a fox as you are a rabbit!"

"You must remember, my Princess, the Emperor and the King _and_ the Marshals accompany them," Ambassador Dhani countered, his voice reserved yet staunch as he recollected himself with fresh coolness. "There are many possibilities of _formal_ pastimes they could be participating in aside from the frivolous sin you suggest."

"Then I am immensely curious to observe what their 'activities' have been," She vindictively spat, turning and stalking towards one of her suite's tall, open windows that let midday sunlight spill over her as if heat in an oven. There were _no_ other explanations for her ' _betrothed's_ ' malapropos behavior than the transgressions she was imagining - even the Ambassador's reassurance was more than flawed! The Prince had been injured in a duel, so his first instinct was to submit to a Lady he had known for hardly a day for _what_ purpose?

 _Political gain!_ She internally sneered, and a snarl grew on her muzzle at the answer while she simultaneously pulled at the windowsill with her short claws. _How_ fortunate _is that?_

 _Extremely!_ A voice growled back, making the fire in her chest burn even more furiously. She no longer cared if his wound became dire! If he died she'd probably be delighted by the news! It'd be no more than he deserved!

 _You do not truly think that, Judith._ A new, worried voice fretted from the corner of her mind, and Judy felt a vexed expression take hold of her face as her ears collapsed behind her head and as her jaw stiffened. _Your feelings betray you. If he were to die, we both know what would become of you. His injury does not exonerate him from his callousness, but it does_ not _give you the right to isolate what feelings you have for him. Become the better mammal and make this situation right._

"Okay," She coolly whispered, closing her eyes for a brief moment while she took a calming breath. Rarely had she become this infuriated by anything, yet the Prince seemed to have a knack to make her disappointed or even more enraged. In this new light she realized her assumptions of his motives for engaging with Lady Caer were unfounded; no doubt there was something irregular occurring between them and the officials in his suite, however it was highly unlikely it was anything lustful. Ambassador Dhani was undoubtedly accurate in his assertion that whatever was happening was courteous in nature, yet that still did not explain why the Prince had pushed her so far away when they had been so close mere hours before.

"Something has changed..." She quietly pondered aloud, her eyes squinting open to stare half-frowning at the towering hills of green beyond the Burrow's walls while her ears perked up from behind her head. "Drastically..."

"My Princess," Ambassador Dhani unexpectedly announced, his necklaces rattling her train of thought as he looked over his shoulder. "Marshal Fenus has returned from the Prince's assembly."

"He's arguing with Prince Gregory," She absentmindedly acknowledged, flicking her ear towards the muffled shouts coming from behind the door in her suite's lowered landing without turning away from the fresh air. "Go let him in. But bar my brother access; I have no desire to speak to him."

"Yes, my Princess," Ambassador Dhani curtly replied, and she followed the jingling of his jewelry with her straight ears as he hurried down the steps. She spent several seconds mindlessly musing about the Prince and his ulterior motives, but when yells erupted from the other side of her suite she cut those thoughts short and sighed, turning her gaze downwards. She couldn't contemplate now that the Marshal had returned. What news had he brought back from the Prince's suite? Had his wound healed or decayed in the day she hadn't seen him? What had become of Lady Caer? Was he still just as belligerent towards her as he had been before the duel?

 _If you wish to know the answer, then stop perturbing yourself and ask!_ An urging voice pushed. With a clear mind she listened, letting a stern yet controlled expression take hold of her face as she turned away from the window. The aggressive bickering between her brother and Marshal Fenus subsided fairly calmly as she stiffly strode across the marble floor, yet the boom of her suite's wooden door slamming shut shook her ears along with anything that wasn't bolted down.

"That damned rabbit is as rebellious as Sir Caer," Marshal Fenus spitefully whispered as he and Ambassador Dhani slowly ascended the steps to the main floor, and Judy seated herself in a blue linen chair that conflicted with her gold dress as they approached, her paws clutched in her lap as a means to silently vent her ill feelings.

"It would be for the best if you did not say that before the Princess. She has been through too much this past day," Ambassador Dhani hurriedly and nigh-silently warned just as his tan and grey ears appeared at the top of the stairs, and she flicked her ear in wordless anger and annoyance just as the two foxes rounded the stone railing bordering the fall to the landing and turned to look at her.

"My Princess, it is good to make your acquaintance again," Marshal Fenus courteously greeted with a quick bow of his head. His large ears sagged like wet leaves behind his head, and his baggy eyes were no more lively than the remainder of his armored form.

"How fares Prince Piberius?" She worriedly pushed with as much formality as her contained aggravation would allow her, barely noticing her incessantly twitching pink nose at the end of her muzzle.

"Attentive in mind, but wounded in body," Marshal Fenus answered, stifling a gulp as his welcoming expression turned a shade more serious. "The palace physician noted that had his gash been any deeper then the arteries leading to his heart would have been severed. In addition, had he had his wound been cauterized any later he would be in eternal sleep now."

"But he will make a full recovery?" She fretfully fretted, her voice filled with concern and distress while the acerbity briefly retreated from her expression, as she anxiously raised out of the seat with her paws clutching its armrests.

"Yes, my Princess. He is well rested and fed, and Marshal Certus has been kind enough to have a courtier fetch him fresh water from a spring," Marshal Fenus reassured, a comforting smile coming onto his face, and she let loose a quiet sigh of relief as she rested her rear down again. Yet the peace did not last in her for very long; within an instant indignation had returned to her, now trimmed with confusion and annoyance.

"Would you care to inform me, my Marshal, of what has transpired between Lady Caer and Prince Piberius?" She forcefully demanded, the crowns of her teeth barely grinding against one another, and the short fox sent her a casual shrug, unfazed by her inquisitive attitude.

"I am afraid I can only tell you so much," He answered, his paws falling behind his back as his tan tail stolidly swished against the floor. "The Marshals were barred entry to the Prince's suite for most of the night. He and Lady Caer spoke for some time after his wounds had been treated, and as far as my knowledge ventures they discussed a great many things, mostly of _Sir_ Caer. I am certain in the fact, however, that Lady Caer shall become the new Lord of Moorston, and will accommodate her grandfather until his passing."

"That is reassuring," She unenthusiastically admitted, standing from her chair and making her way towards a tall, gold-trimmed mirror hanging on a nearby wall. "Is there anything else I should know of the meeting he summoned?"

"Only that he will dismiss the other Marshals to their respective armies around the Kingdom in good time," Marshal Fenus responded. "I shall remain in the palace until he has prepared an equivalent task for me."

"That is pleasing to hear," Judy curtly chimed, her eyes scouring over her gold dress while her paws fixed the folds and imperfections that had built up across it. "Well, if you are not committed to any other obligations as of now then I request that you deliver a message to the Prince from me."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, my Princess," Marshal Fenus neutrally denied, and she spun her head towards him with an intrusive frown. "The Prince has assigned himself a great many duties despite his injury. I doubt he could make the time to meet with you."

"Excuse me?" She blurted out, visibly offended, and she began to stalk towards the two foxes with her paws by her sides and her ears towering above her. Both the Marshal's and the Ambassador's ears fell in nervousness as she hastily approached them.

"He cannot make _time_ for his fiance - that I should mention he has not seen since before he suffered a life-threatening grievance - and expects me to sit idly by while he _ignores_ me?" She asserted, her expression and voice clearly irked, and she let her nose twitch in contempt.

"That is not what I sai-" Marshal Fenus hurriedly began, trying to calm her, but she silenced him with a sudden lunge of her face towards him.

"Shut it!" She growled, puffing out her chest and clenching her fists even tighter, and the short fox snapped his jaw shut, his large, solemn eyes reflecting her own scorn back at herself.

"You shall return to Prince Piberius with word that I wish to meet him before the throne room in no less than half an hour," She quietly and threateningly whispered, beginning to lean over the Marshal, and he wordlessly replied to her with a stiff and staid nod before hurrying away from her and around the stone railing to his right.

"As for you, Ambassador," She gruffly continued, reforming her stature and brushing down her gold dress again as she turned her grim gaze towards Ambassador Dhani, who was staring at her with eyes as clear as the air and a partially-panicked partially-nervous expression plastered on his face. "I require you to fetch me a torch."

* * *

"I was on may way to meet with Lord Fealer and Lord Mary when the Marshal interrupted me," The Prince gruffly stated between his hurried steps and the struggled pants escaping from his hunched form. "I hope this excursion yields results as equal in importance as that."

"It shall, my Prince Piberius," Judy replied with an equal amount of warmth. The torch in her paw was the only source of hope in the endless grey of the spiraling, descending stairway she found herself leading the Prince down. He trailed behind her with his right paw pressing the collar of his unadorned black and green-trimmed doublet, putting pressure on his sealed yet grizzly wound while his left supported himself against the wall. With every pace he took he grunted in pain, but she kept an ear on him at all times, monitoring every sound that escaped from him with immense caution.

A part of her wanted to wring his head off his neck right in this instant, yet another, more reasonable part wanted to ease the tension between them through much more direct and much less violent means. That was her entire purpose for escorting them away from the hum and buzz of the palace. Any potential disturbances could send their relationship into a corkscrew yet again, and with all that had transpired over the previous weeks that was a chance she was _not_ willing to take.

"The catacombs?" The Prince loudly inquired in confusion, a frown furrowed on his brow, as he followed her descent from the staircase's final step and into an endlessly wide and inescapably black low-ceiling expanse. All she did was stiffly nod and grumble in confirmation, raising her torch so that the orange light radiating from it made long shadows against the effigies carved into the lids of the rowed caskets and the stone columns scattered between them.

Without giving time for the Prince to pry or question her motives like she _knew_ he would Judy stormed off into the darkness, her feet taking priority over her mind as they guided her through the seemingly infinite grid of burials. She felt a minute feeling of grief wash over her as she steadily piloted past her brother's polished sarcophagi, almost a dozen all in all, but when her attentive ears caught the sounds of the Prince's heavy breaths and strained steps coming from the darkness behind her she turned away from them and pushed onward, deeper into the catacombs.

The Prince said nothing when he finally caught up to her side, his paw still gripping his wound and his breathing more like wheezing, and she shortened her pace to let him regain his breath when a feeling of pity burrowed into her heart.

"You mentioned there was a pathway into the hills from these catacombs," He eventually grumbled when he had caught his breath, clearing his throat and straightening his hunched back. "I assume that is where you are escorting me."

"Your assumptions are correct," Judy emotionlessly confirmed, cutting her eyes rightwards to stare at his perked ears and sharp eyes prying into the darkness in front of them. The cleft in his right ear had been sewn together with thick, black stitches that made her wince with distaste while his right paw continued to pressure the gash under his doublet.

She meticulously concentrated on each individual step he took and breath he breathed, keeping one of her eyes and both her ears focused on him as the space around them shrunk, leaving them travelling down an ancient, rock hallway with an uneven floor beneath and shallow inlets carved into the coarse walls. Within them were the cobweb-filled skeletons of rabbits, the sight of which made her shudder and move ever so slightly closer to her betrothed so that their paw fur brushed against one another.

No sound passed from him as he side-stepped away from her, his movements as ghastly as a wraith. His eyes never met with hers, nor did she concede and turn towards him, but at the sight of his stubborn expression and clenched paws in the far corner of her gaze she gripped the torch marginally more discontentedly.

 _Deep breaths, Judith._ She pointedly eased, closing her eyes while her ears tilted towards the darkness. _You are almost there. But a few more moments before the root of this nonsensical behavior of his is revealed._

The underground tunnel was long enough to house most of the Burrow beyond the Palace's walls, if she was as well mannered in mathematics as she believed she was. It nigh felt endless, however just as she began to pant from the gentle uphill climb a dim, natural light peeked into her vision from far beyond the torch. It became brighter and brighter until the torchlight became irrelevant, and she snuffed it out with wet fingers as she came to a stop at the edge of the darkness.

Beyond the low dirt cliff no taller than ten ear-lengths before her was the rhythm of a stream, yet it may as well have been a mountain range away as the Prince came to a halt behind her with fresh pants and heavy steps. Sunlight trimmed with the green of plants streamed in above, revealing the tan dirt ceiling of the tunnel and instilling vigor within her.

Judy dropped the blackened wooden torch at her feet and gripped an outcrop of rock just at the edge of her reach before she pulled herself up the cliff, hanging off it for several moments before she targeted a new ledge and threw her paw up towards it. The going was slow, and required careful concentration, however eventually she found herself staring outwards from the end of the tunnel and into a compact ravine of stone and grass. She could hardly remember the last time she had seen this place. Maybe it had been before Prince Johanne's death, when the war had barely been a concern of hers and the world was still a sphere of gold and green. Yet the green gulch was as lively and beautiful as ever, unchanged after all these years.

Her warming reminiscing did not last for very long. The Prince let loose an excruciating growl as dirt fell around him, and she spun on her feet and hurried the few paces to kneel over the side of the cliff with a startled expression. Her fiance was only a few paw-lengths away from her, with his legs floundering in the darkness and his body swaying in the light. He was hanging by his left paw, with his right gripping his gash vehemently while his eyes were clenched shut and his lips pulled back in a silent snarl.

"Here," She forcefully interrupted as she shoved her paw down towards him, a slight feeling of anxiety forming underneath her furrowed brow. The Prince kept his tongue between his teeth, yet his eyes snapped open at her voice and he moved his right paw off his wound, swung in the air for several seconds with an even more wretched look on his face, and finally threw his paw upwards to grip hers.

Judy could feel something slick on his velvety palm, and she felt her eyes widen in fright as she dragged him up and over the side of the ledge so that he was on all fours in the revealing sunlight.

"You're bleeding," She apprehensively commented, lowering herself onto her knees as her eyes picked at his open wound. The pink mass of skin that had formed during the cauterization had split midway, revealing the deep red flesh underneath and letting the dark red color of blood soak the collar of his black doublet. She moved her paws up towards the spot, her heart intent on applying pressure while he caught his breath, yet as soon as the tips of her fingers brushed it he snapped at her, his eyes burning and teeth bared in a vicious and warning expression.

"I can manage," He growled, pushing himself up onto his feet as he moved his left paw to press into his gash, a small jolt pecking his body at the touch. Judy squinted her gaze and clenched her jaw at his adamantly defiant behavior, and she raised and trailed behind him the few paces into the full sunlight with newfound resentment and suppressed feelings of worry and care.

"Well, you have me here now," The Prince eventually noted without casting a glance towards her, resting his rear on a felled tree squarely in the center of the ravine with his tail sprawled out across its mossy trunk. "I hope whatever you have brought me here to witness is truly worth the time and effort that it has taken to escort me here."

 _You do not know the half of it._ Judy silently scowled, feeling the inquisitive desire inside her grow to even greater heights, and as she wandered to stand on the grass in front of her betrothed with her paws squeezed into fists she collected herself, ready to begin the conversation she had sought after for what had felt like an eternity.

"My Prince Piberius, I demand to know why you have been treating me with such disrespect these past weeks," She sternly demanded, taking a step forward with as much authority her body could muster. She felt absolutely capable of controlling their exchange as the Prince's cold green gaze darted up from the small, trickling creek to his side.

"What?" He burst out in confusion and disbelief, his mouth not fully closed nor open while a deep frown formed on his brow.

"At the duel you nearly carelessly threw away your life, no matter how much I pleaded with you to avoid the event!" She fiercely elaborated, frustrated by his blindness to see his grievances. "My words fell on ears deaf exclusively to me! And when all was over, with Sir Caer defeated, the first mammal you greet is not your betrothed but the loser's daughter! Can you not comprehend what that does to someone's faith in their partner?"

The longer her tirade lasted the more and more the Prince shook his head, simultaneously raising from the tree and wandering away from her with his back turned and a clenched paw raised beside his head, as if he was going to strike out at the air. Yet her frustration did not subside, and she followed him staunchly as he wandered further into the grassy clearing.

"Yet that does not take in consideration that you _abandoned_ me shortly thereafter!" She extended, her voice filled with fire and hurt. "Do you know how it feels to know that your future husband is spending his nights recovering with another female after a near-death experience rather than with you? Of course you do not! You care not of my feelings."

"I shall not stand here and bicker pointlessly with you!" The Prince explosively erupted, spinning on his heels towards her as he threw his fist down to his side and visibly tightened the grip his wound, squeezing more blood from it. His eyes were as red as the liquid still drooling down his side while his teeth viciously shone in the sunlight.

"I have been nothing but kind and loving to you, and _this_ is how you treat me?" He viciously hissed, slowly stalking up to tower in front of her and puffing out his shaky chest. "By suggesting that I have spent time _courting_ another lady?"

"I do not suggest that at all, my Prince Piberius!" Judy passionately retorted, letting her ears straighten even more as she countered the Prince's aggressive stance with one of her own. "What I do imply - no, not imply. What I _know_ is that you raise mammals you are hardly acquainted with to positions of personal importance far above me! Your own _damned_ fiance! Now if you wish for this _bickering_ to end, then tell me what has converted you from a caring individual to a spiteful one in a seemingly incessant cycle, and why you are suddenly making me an outcast once again!"

"Your jealousy that I spend more time with others is blatant," The Prince maliciously sneered, raising his lip in a show of disgust while he flexed his claws. "How selfish of you. But, for the sake of argument, I shall address your unfounded concerns. Lady Caer had to be dealt with in someway or another, and if peace was to be maintained then I had to allow myself time to befriend her. You see, _Carrots_ , I don't give an inch of my tail if my actions make you experience _doubt_ or _fear_ or _anger_ \- I do what I must for the Empire and the Burrows."

"That hardly makes me feel at ease!" Judy defensively exclaimed, shaking her head with a frown while she took one more inquisitive step towards the Prince, studying his face. "You sound more like a despot than a representative of the common-folk! Not to mention that it is not you alone that is to ensure peace, but _us_! Why do you continuously doubt my ability to perform admirably when I could have aided you in times when you truly needed it?"

"I am quite aware of your aptitude for acquiring knowledge and quickness to learn, however those fail to outweigh your general inexperience of managing anything of note," He gruffly rebuked, the fire in his expression beginning to seethe, as he let his bloodied right paw fall from his wound with a wince and clasp it with his left behind him. "To me, you are more a distraction than a convenience. If I wanted your input or aid, then I would have approached you."

"I doubt you would have!" Judy harshly riposted, vehemently annoyed as she hurried behind the Prince with her paws clenched by her sides when he frustratedly turned away from her and began to stalk towards the uneven tunnel entrance against the ravine's rock wall. "You are so very indignant to allow me to work with you! It is not _you_ alone who is supposed to bring a lasting peace to our species. It is _us_!"

" _Us_?" The Prince poisonously spat, halting his advance and throwing his snarling muzzle in her face. "Have you ignored everything I have said throughout this pointless conversation? I shall not waste precious time educating some stubborn, clingy, witless rabbit just so she can feel _better_ about herself!"

"I can hardly believe what you are saying!" She gasped in horror, wildly offended by his insult, as she rested a stiff paw on her chest. She could feel the blood beginning to both broil and freeze within her veins.

"No," She anxiously denied, closing her eyes and shaking her head as the Prince sent her a final, loathing scowl. "We cannot continue conversing until you have come to your senses. Your feelings would not have warranted you to act this way to me."

"Feelings!" The Prince repeated, his edgy, half-amused voice making Judy open her eyes and stare confounded at his snarling face alive with the white of his teeth and inferno of his gaze.

"My dearest Princess," He malevolently cooed, leaning in towards her until her whiskers were brushing against his seething smile. "The only feeling I harbor for you is resentment."

"What?" She barely managed to choke out, her voice stuttering in fear as her eyes widened to the size of apples and as her ears fell and tucked against her back.

"Every time you speak, I learn to like you marginally less," He nonchalantly persisted, his unfeeling, unrelenting demeanor causing her to tremble with heartache and terror. "You are a disdainful mammal - a leech that pulls and sucks until all the energy in my body dissipates into the threads of the black blanket of death. Had I the chance, I would excommunicate you. And if you do not believe me, then answer me this; when have I _ever_ mentioned my, I should add _nonexistent_ , love for you?"

"We are to be married!" She rebuked, clenching her fists as a grievous expression took over her face. She could feel her tortured heart beginning to fail within her heavy, wheezing chest while the first shadows of tears began to blur her vision.

"A decision that was not mine," The Prince forcefully countered, his piercing smile falling back into the folds of his muzzle as he straightened himself, bringing his snout away from her clenched snarl. "If it were not for the sake of peace, I would not have batted an eye at you."

"You are not the same Prince who befriended me!" She wretchedly erupted, the words echoing inside her skull still cutting at her heartstrings, but all the Prince did was grin and turn, seemingly amused by her grief.

"Something has corrupted you!" She fiercely hurled, hard on the Prince's feet as he resumed his steady advance towards the tunnel's entrance across the grassy clearing. "You have changed so much that now I can hardly see how you were once Prince Wilde!"

Without any warning whatsoever the Prince's bloodied paw came swinging from his wound and struck her cheek, sending her flying and spinning onto the grass with an awkward thud. Her forehead landed on a fallen piece of damp timber, leaving her even more dazed than she already was, and it took what felt like hours yet wasn't more than an instant to roll over onto her back.

Before she could attempt anything else the Prince was on top of her with his flexed claws pinning her arms onto the ground and digging into her skin. The startled and shocked feeling that his strike had sent her reeling with slowly gave way to that of utter fear and horror, slowly snaking into her like a bad drink. The wetness in her gaze evaporated immediately, scorched by the blaze of his broiling emeralds, while the pain in her breaths escalated tenfold.

A hundred thousand thoughts passed through her head at once, each one shouting at her to follow its own orders, but all she found she could do was back into the ground in a useless attempt to distance herself from the Prince's murderous snarl that only drew closer as she retreated.

" _Never_ address me as that name again," He savagely snarled, his quiet voice and brooding, maniacal gaze only exemplifying his point and stealing the shaking voice from her throat. "I am Prince _Piberius_ , son of Emperor Canus and heir to the thrones of the Empire and Burrows. I shall not be called by the name of a pathetic fox. I am the hope for peace. _Me._ Not _him._ Do you understand?"

She could barely nod as he let loose a murderous growl that shook her to her core, his serrated maw only a finger's width away from her exposed throat. His claws were digging even harder into her skin, sending pain travelling up the length of her veins. She could hear blood roaring in her ears and feel her heart pumping against her ribs, but all she could do was sit still. He was going to kill her. She could see it in the blood still escaping from his wound.

"Good," He disdainfully growled, raising up off her with a horrible, cold expression. His entire weight was gone in an instant, leaving her arms free and her body able to move once again, yet not without pain. She backed away from him frantically, resting on her elbows as she watched him silently and sullenly stalk back into the tunnel with his paw once again clutching his shoulder.

It was only when the dark tip of his tail disappeared into the endless blackness that the full magnitude of her emotions struck her like a falling tree. She was beyond frightened, she now realized. And beyond miserable. The tide of emotion slowly wrapping itself around her was lonelier and darker than even an ocean trench.

As she hesitantly raised her paw to the side of her face she could feel dampness beginning to plague her vision once again. Fresh blood was slowly drooling down her cheek, the wound she had received from the bandits opened by the Prince's claw. She had confronted him, just like she promised herself she would. And look at where that had left her. What would have happened if she had angered him any more? Would he have _killed_ her? Her gut was screaming he would have. She had seen it.

She opened her mouth to try and speak, to try and reassure herself that all would turn out fine, but all she could do was remain silent, wordlessly stuttering silent reassurances as salty tears mixed with the blood dripping onto the grass. And then, all at once, she screamed, curling up into a ball as she pressed her forehead into her knees and bit her lip until her mouth was filled with the bitter taste of blood.

 _He despises you_. She kept repeating to herself, each repetition bringing her closer and closer to falling completely into despair. Her heart was aching beyond relief, but she kept on sobbing. What was she going to do about this?

"Nothing," She barely whimpered, embracing herself even tighter as the light of the sun dimmed behind the trees. That was all she could do.

* * *

The smoky haze rising from the thatched and tiled roofs and chimneys of the city's brick buildings turned the morning sun into a foggy light, more a nuisance than a blessing. It streamed in through the packed marble amphitheater like water through a leak in a dam. The building had been sealed off from the rest of the city by its noisy, vulpine occupants, more concerned with their own troubles than the state of the dirty yellow light.

"Order, order! We must have order!" One of them shouted from the nadir of the amphitheater, bringing down the angry din of noisy coming from the scores of foxes surrounding him with a stamp of his foot and shushes from other foxes seated in the fiery crowd.

"We have not come here to bicker and plot," He scorned once silence had given him the stage. "Emperor Canus must _not_ know why we have gathered. We have a duty to restore the glory of the Empire with as little bloodshed as possible."

"Why should we bother caring if one hears who we are to kill?" A young voice spitefully interrupted from the highest seats of the amphitheater. "We are among friends here in Regnenburg! As we are in almost all of our cities!"

"That does not matter!" The graying arctic fox on the stage passionately rebuked, supported by shouts of agreement from the elder members of the crowd. "There are spies everywhere. Canus watches his dominion with wicked eyes and straight ears. No hamlet, town, or metropolis is safe for us. We must behave accordingly and prepare covertly for what is to come."

"Elector Schwarzhund is right," A fellow arctic fox sternly agreed, raising from the senior members seated at the theater's bottom steps and facing the crowd in his heavy chain mail. "We cannot go from town to town preaching dissent even _if_ there are those who resist this nepotistic infringement instantiated by the Emperor! The Electors' powers must be restored, and punishment must be brought to the kingdom of beasts north of our borders!"

"Thank you, Elector Totenfluss," Elector Schwarzhund earnestly thanked, patting his counterpart on his mailed shoulder and motioning for him to return to his seat. "Now, if we may continue. Elector Yabrin, the floor is yours."

"Thank you, my Elector," A young, arabian red fox in full leather lamellar gratuitously expressed, standing from his seat among the elder electors and addressing the room with a brusque bow.

"As you are all well aware, Emperor Canus has organized a marriage between Prince Piberius and the Burrow's Princess Hopps, daughter of King Hopps," He informatively began, a piercing expression on his face and his paws clasped behind his back. "If this union progresses, then our Empire will be little more than a province of rabbits."

"Then we need to ensure that the two of them shall not be married!" A tall grey fox irritably hollered from midway up the amphitheater, raising mumbles of support scattered throughout the crowd and inciting an agreeing nod from Elector Yabrin. "They must be assassinated at the earliest possible convenience!"

"Let us not take drastic action just yet, Elector Johan," He carefully yet strongly continued, sweeping his prying eyes over every elector. "Thankfully for us there is an alternative. A fox in close proximity to Prince Wilde has been slowly turning him against his betrothed. We could use this to our advantage."

"Who?" Elector Schwarzhund inquired, frowning and stepping towards him from the edge of the platform. "Who has the gall to stand up to the Emperor's will in such volatile times?"

"He does not say," Elector Yabrin casually answered, unphased by the numerous grumbles of discontent coming from the elder electors. "He pens to me in the common tongue, and has passed to me vital intelligence on the movement of forces along with details of the Emperor's actions. In the last letter I received from him, he pledged his allegiance to us, the true rulers of foxkind."

"If this fox is truly aligned with us, and not a mere pawn set up by the Emperor's spies, then turning the Prince and Princess against one another may yet re-initiate the war," A lively corsac fox pondered aloud from the amphitheater's second step, attracting the eyes and ears of the room. "But that would only be if their relations became strained beyond repair."

"If, if, if!" Elector Totenfluss angrily interrupted from his seat, throwing his paws up in the air as he turned over his shoulder to stare at the corsac fox. "You speak too hypothetically, Elector Constantz! Elector Yabrin, _when_ your intelligence fails to disrupt the marriage, what is the alternative course of action?"

"No plan is set in stone as of now, my Elector," Elector Yabrin conceded, sending a respectful bow of his head to the old fox. "However, if our friend fails to separate them, then we shall take Elector Johan's recommendation into consideration and summon the four who wait in Wien."

* * *

 **Talk about brutal! And the violence ain't over yet!**

 **A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 10 - Frankly, whenever the hell I get around to it**

 **This chapter was last edited May 31, 2017**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Love and hate for the last chapter. Lots of people suggesting that something happened to Nick in-between chapters, but I can assure you that's not the case. Hopefully this chapter will, first off make everyone feel a little better, and, secondly explain what's truly going on with Nick.**

 **As I said before, the more comments, the better! Complain, suggest, recommend, congratulate, all things are needed! Without further ado, here's (the much happier) chapter 10!**

* * *

"You wished to see me, my Emperor?" Nick courteously greeted with perked ears, his gaze flicking over the hunched, armored figure standing in the moonlight. He was surrounded by the Marshals of the Empire and the members of his court, all of whom turned to stare at him standing in the suite's candlelight from the marble patio they had gathered on. Their faces looked low-spirited as their conversations fizzled out, inviting a feeling of curiosity into his mind. Something serious had occurred over the course of the day, most of which he had busied himself training the lords' sons in ranged combat and downing cup after cup of Marshal Certus's delicious spring water.

"Leave us," The Emperor gruffly ordered, his back to everyone and his gloved paws resting on the balcony's stone railing as he faced the gently rolling hills beyond the palace walls. Nick could hear the struggle in his old voice, made worse by the cold still ailing his health. The foxes swarmed around him as they hurried off the balcony, each one staring at him seriously save for Marshal Certus, who greeted him with a warm nod. He brushed off the amiss looks and stalked in-between the members of the court with his chin high and paws behind his back.

"You two, stay," The Emperor grumbled to Marshal Fenus and Ambassador Dhani as they began to depart from his side, and they both exchanged a curious glance before stopping themselves. Nick sent them both a welcoming nod as he made his final approach onto the balcony, taking point only a few feet behind the Emperor, but all they did was stare at him coldly as if he had ruffled their fur.

"My Prince Piberius, what has become of Princess Hopps in recent days?" The Emperor intrusively asked, his neutral tone and only half-visible face refusing to reveal his true demeanor.

"Princess Hopps?" He repeated, frowning. What was the Emperor playing at? Surely one rabbit could not have caused all this commotion.

"I have not seen her in two days," He stoically admitted, playing along as he pointed his ears higher, infatuated by where the conversation was heading. The Emperor slowly nodded in response, only his blank muzzle visible behind the remainder of his face. For several seconds he remained silent, as if pondering on his answer, and Nick began to impatiently tap his foot against the marble floor. There were still a great many celebrations and meetings to organize for upcoming evenings. If all he and the Emperor were going to discuss was his betrothed, then-

Before he could finish that thought the Emperor's steel-plated paw was against the side of his face. It had come whirling towards him without any prior warning, catching him in his moment of weakness and landing an excruciating, bruising blow on his left eye that sent him reeling onto his side and barking in painful shock. He collapsed to the floor, his armor loudly crashing, and let loose an awful, vicious growl as he clutched his now bleeding eye and lurched his dazed gaze upwards to scour over the Emperor's snarling, murderous face.

"Kick him!" The fuming fox commanded, flicking one of his ears and lashing his tail towards Marshal Fenus, who turned to stare at him with wide, startled eyes.

"Hold-" Nick began, only now beginning to regain his thoughts after the blow, but Marshal Fenus delivered a light slam to his lower lorica segmentata with his steel boot. It was enough to force all the air out of his lungs, and he struggled for air as if a fish out of water while he curled his tail around his stomach and pulled his limbs towards him in a fetal position.

"Did I say to relent?" The Emperor sarcastically questioned, his deep, guttural growl enticing Nick to open his right eye and stare up at his merciless face while he pushed his left paw into his throbbing wound, trying to stop the blood escaping from it.

Marshal Fenus delivered another blow, this time much harder than before, and he growled and gritted his teeth as pain traveled outwards from his core, refusing to move his attention away from the Emperor. But the old fox only stared back spitefully as more and more blows rained down on him.

Eventually there came a point where the pain across his chassis became completely overwhelming, and he let his head fall to the ground with a thud and let loose a heavy groan. Every muscle in his body was screaming for the beating to stop, yet all he could do was roll further onto his side, trying to shield himself from further torment.

"Pull him to his feet," The Emperor ordered after a final gut kick from the Marshal, forcing a yap from him, and the short fox accompanied by Ambassador Dhani dragged him by his arms to weakly hang as he faced the Emperor, his paw weakly falling from his bleeding eye.

"Had you been any other mammal, I would have executed proper punishment for what you've done!" The Emperor threatened, his left paw gripping the railing to give his sick body more support while he belligerently pointed his gloved paw right at his face, extending a single, shining claw. "You don't deserve the name of Piberius, you tyrannical despot!"

"I deserve the name of Piberius as much as you deserve the name of Canus!" He viciously retorted, his vision beginning to shade red in both rage and the blood still seeping from his newfound wound. He thrashed against the paws holding him that only squeezed tighter in response, and he loudly growled as pain shot up the length of his shoulder and neck, undoubtedly his resealed slash being torn open again.

"I have brought peace onto the Empire and have secured it for years to come!" **[1]** He defensively rebuked, throwing his head towards the Emperor's equally fierce face as he snarled and lashed his tail back and forth.

"You have baselessly assaulted Princess Hopps!" The Emperor menacingly growled in reply, his voice dangerously quiet and his ears folded behind his lowered head.

"You have done _what_?" Ambassador Dhani exclaimed, disgusted, turning his wide eyes towards him with a horrified frown. Nick barely looked at the bengal fox, because a half instant later a painful jab landed in his mid left core and he whirled his gaze over to Marshal Fenus.

"Not even a rat of the Vermintide would be so cruel," The fennec harshly growled, but he stood his ground and growled back. What right did a _commoner_ have to judge him? _He_ was the Prince. _His_ decisions had led them into a new age of prosperity - not some other fox's! If any mammal was to be the ax of justice, it should be _himself_!

"You have soiled the relationship between you and Princess Hopps," The Emperor hissed, his voice still as freezing yet flaming as an Arctic gale. "And it concerns me even more that you do not care of her whereabouts after days of disappearance, which, for your _ungracious_ information, has been naught but in her suite, moping!"

"We are lucky that more mammals have not noticed," He gruffly continued, quieter and marginally calmer, the fur on the back of his neck flattening while he turned to lean over the balcony's railing with steady, prolonged breaths. "If the lords were not so focused on preparing the feast in honor of their departure then we would be dealing with an issue tenfold more serious. For now, only we along with the most disturbed and irritated King Hopps know of the true extent of your thoughtlessness. Our courts know the relationship between you and Princess Hopps is strained, but not the cause of which. You must _not_ inform any other mammal as of why. If her brothers were to find out what has truly transpired, then-"

"-they would plot against my life, and peace would be thrown to the wind," Nick fiercely interrupted, beginning to struggle against the Marshal and Ambassador as the little fuel left within him burned despite the blood seeping down his face. "Why should I squabble over some plot against me? There were countless during the war, and each one was foiled! If they do rise up, then they will be punished for their disloyalty!"

The Emperor didn't speak at his threat, instead glancing over his shoulder with blank, calculating eyes that studied his face as if he were searching for something hidden on a map. Nick held steady, still struggling against the paws keeping him in place with ever weakening ferocity. Whatever the Emperor had to say didn't concern him in the slightest - he was the Prince! He did not have to heed warnings from anyone!

"Do you love Princess Hopps?" The Emperor suddenly pushed, his voice lacking any other emotion aside from raw curiosity. Nick felt a small wave of confusion consume his raging thoughts at the prying question and he momentarily stopped his writhing to stare into the green depths of the Emperor's eyes.

"I love her because I must," He answered, his deep voice revealing as little emotion as he could aside from frustration.

"When did you become so heartless," The Emperor sneered in reply, turning away, but Nick couldn't help but smile in defiance.

"Heartless?" He repeated, almost amused by the word, and he watched as the Emperor perked his ears at the sound of his sarcastic voice. "You mean _calculating_. It was revealed to me that if I let my affinity for Princess Hopps dictate my actions, as they had been, then I would lead the Empire down another path of destruction."

"Who told you that?" The Emperor intrusively barked, whirling his squinted vision over his shoulder to silently claw at his face.

"Doesn't matter," Nick strongly insisted, feeling the balance of power of their conversation shift towards him, and he presented a pride-filled, toothy smile to the world. "But I see that he was right. It is only I that can secure peace, not _her_. That is what must happen if we are to have peace."

"You are young and gullible," The Emperor scornfully commented, turning to stare at him with his paws crossed behind his back and his face a ghastly white from the moon rising directly overhead. He ordered the Marshal and Ambassador to release him with a curt nod, and as their grip weakened on his arms he shook them off, grunting when another pang of pain shot up his neck while he pressed his paw into his bleeding eye.

"Let this be a lesson," The tall fox threateningly finished, his quiet voice ripe with violence, but before Nick could put up a paw against him his tight, armored grip was around his neck, squeezing all the air out of him and forcing him to grasp his dirtied wrist guard with both his paws.

"You are your mother's son, but there is too much Tacitus in you," The tall, fuming fox pointedly hissed, squeezing even more blood from his wounds, yet all he could do was continue to struggle against him, his heart beginning to beat painfully while red once again consumed his vision. "Your father was a fair fox, but his dedication to establishing peace was his downfall. He scrounged for every bit of it he could through _any_ means necessary; even if that meant hurting those closest to him. You would have been too young to remember what he did, and even in this day and age very few know the circumstances. He was his own downfall, in the end. And now you follow in his footsteps, a power-hungry mongrel. A _shame_ on this species."

"The soldier who desires peace _always_ chooses war," He finished, a deep, rough growl erupting from his chest. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes!" Nick choked out, each of his breaths struggling to make it past the Emperor's grip. He could barely think, but he could still feel the fires of rage pouring from his body along with more and more of his blood. He didn't want to fight back anymore. He _couldn't_ fight back anymore.

The Emperor stared at him with a cross squint for a moment longer, tightening his grip even more in the second before he dropped him. Nick landed on his knees with a thud, bending over and drinking air like ale while he grabbed at his neck with his paws. Every bruise on his body was screaming for relief, and his eye and shoulder were still drooling out blood by the chalice, but he refused to ease his suffering. This darkness blurring his thoughts was departing at a rate quickening by the instant.

"How can I make all this right again?" He feebly asked, heavy pants still escaping from his broken spirit as he turned his trembling, desperate eyes up to stare at the back of the Emperor's head. "How can peace be obtained?"

"Have you not been listening?" The fox scorned, refusing to even glance at him as he stared at the fields beyond the railing. "You don't go searching for peace, peace searches for you. _You_ must be open to it. Go. Mend the bond between you and Judith. Your love will be the lighthouse through the fog of troubles. That is, if your _lust_ for authority doesn't further harm anyone."

Nick shot up to his feet instantly, something inside him incited by the Emperor's poetic remark and scathing comment. He pushed all the doubt and pain within him into the furthest recesses of his mind and pressed his shoulder plate into his wound with his right paw while his left pressured the gash in his eye.

"I will fix all this, my Emperor!" He wholeheartedly guaranteed, feeling pitiful energy filling his chest even under the watchful, vengeful gazes of Marshal Fenus and Ambassador Dhani. "I promise you!"

"Don't fix it," The coughing fox countered, sickness once again plaguing him as he peeked over his shoulder to send him a stoic glare. "Make it _better_."

* * *

Judy was too preoccupied to bother answering the few knocks at her suite's front door. She wasn't quite sure she even heard it above the continual misery of her existence. To her the noise was more fabricated than real, a trick of the mind to try and urge her out of bed. But she wouldn't take the bait, too sickened to raise her heavy head or limp arms off her white bedspread. She couldn't even stop the stinging tears drip, drip, drip down from her wide blank eyes and onto her cotton sheet as she mindlessly stared past her balcony and out into the cloudy night sky where the moon was just starting its inevitable descent back down to earth. Grief had consumed her entirely.

She had barely moved since her confrontation with the Prince had gone so horribly wrong. She had wallowed in this disdainful, repetitive environment she called her quarters for what seemed like an eternity. Her tear ducts had run until they were sore, then her voice had whined and whimpered until it was as unstable as a crackling fire. Misery, fury, ecstasy - all feelings had come and gone, leaving her a hollow shell of her former self filled to the brim with naught save sorrow and fear.

What was stopping Prince Piberius from finishing her off like a wounded prey? He could storm in at any second and rip her still beating heart from her chest - both literally and metaphorically. But instead he was keeping her in eternal limbo, having not had the pleasure of intruding into her domain, and she accepted the isolated position with zeal. If she were to ever see his face again...

Three loud knocks on her oaken bedroom door shook her from her doleful rumination, sending her head flying upwards and her suddenly startled gaze whirling around.

"Princess Hopps?" A cautious, vulpine voice worriedly started. At the sound Judy frantically scrambled to the furthest reaches of her mattress, pulling her bedsheets up towards her face as panic and terror consumed her entirely. It was _him_. What in all of the endless sky was he doing here? Had he come to cast wounds upon her even more egregiously than prior? She knew he had! He had arrived to finish the job he began in the ravine!

She couldn't help but distraughtly dart her eyes to the sheathed sword hanging on the waist of the manikin across from her mirror, adorned in her steel chassis and bracers, but within the same instant another three knocks drew her attention back towards the character behind the closed door.

"Princess Hopps," The Prince continued more urgently, and she ever-so-slightly lowered the white sheet from her muzzle and felt the fur flatten along the back of her neck as she homed in on his now more worried than cautious tone. "It is the Prince. Do you have a moment to talk?"

 _A moment to talk?_ She repeated internally, confounded and frightened by the phrase. _As so he can scar me with his words again! I refuse to give in to such a lie!_

Yet part of her believed his intentions were remotely different than before. Even with her rapid heartbeat echoing in them her stiff, folded ears could pick up the minuscule sounds of his tail swishing back and forth across the marble floor. He muttered curses to himself under his breath, barely audible but enough to stir interest within her. It was only when he sighed in defeat and turned away from the door that she was coaxed to speak up.

"Just a moment!" She hurriedly choked out, her voice quaky and more frightened than a virgin on her wedding night. She threw the messy sheets off herself as she catapulted across the floor, still listening to the Prince and the pleased sound he made with a single ear. Her stiff limbs hindered her quick, short movements as she cast another longing stare at the sword sheathed on the manikin now directly before her.

 _Now look at the situation you have placed yourself into!_ A voice from one of the many crevices of her mind hollered. _He'll be here in seconds! What if you assumed his actions incorrectly?_ _What happens_ when _he attacks you? Do you have the strength to raise a sword against him?_

She found she couldn't answer that final question. Though he _hated_ her with all his heart she still adored the fox from that night in the balcony, the very same who accompanied her for dinner, who, somewhere underneath all the formality and rage of the mammal outside her bedroom door, was buried. She wouldn't dare hurt him, regardless of the gashes he inflicted upon her. Yet when push would come to shove, with her decisions called into question, what would come to pass?

"Just in case," She silently and shakily whispered to herself as she moved away from the manikin, dropping her paw into the top drawer of her bedside table. She pulled a raw, steel blade from it; a dagger she had taken from the palace's armory, a tool she had promised herself she would not wield unless in the most dire of circumstances.

She studied its glossy, smooth texture with her soft fingers as well as her prying eyes, not wanting to leave a parcel of it untouched before she stole it away underneath her two-piece white-lavender nightgown. There were so many emotions held within the blade, all of which were a reflection of her purple gaze.

"Enter," She flatly hailed, temporarily suppressing all of the sights and noises of the knife as she silently closed the drawer and hurried back to rest her rear on the foot of her bed, sliding the device handle first into her loose sleeve in the same moment she formally folded her paws on her lap.

Nick hardly heard her voice above the shouts within the confines of his mind. His ears still rung and bruises still pounded from the beating the Emperor had delivered upon him. The events of the early night had left him dazed yet determined, half-drained of his red life force, the feeling of shock draped over him only now beginning to subside.

 _I know what must be done._ He frailly reassured himself with a deep breath, tainted by the smell of his own blood that blurred his sense of scent. Gathering his confidence over several strained moments and briefly overcoming the pounds and aches resonating from his head he cracked open the entrance and stepped into the cool moonlight that washed over him like water on stone. It had a healing factor, because as it drenched his facial fur he could feel the pain in his bruised eye begin to resign. Yet maybe that was more a result of his eye contact with the Princess than it was the dim, shadowing lighting.

"Thank you for letting me in," He amicably began, attempting to sound as sincere in voice as he did in thought while he studied her cold, resigned face with a transparent grimace. He would need to see her smile before he departed from her side.

Before she could utter a word in reply - that she had been too distraught by his presence to consider doing in the first place - he closed the door behind himself in a polite gesture and let his paws fall behind his back along with his now stationary tail.

He was dressed in a white doublet trimmed with lime strings and golden lining accompanied by an equally grandiloquent pair of trousers that went down to his bare feet. For Judy it was the first time beholding him in such extravagant clothing. It did not suit him.

"You wished to talk, my Prince?" She stoically recounted, holding his warm gaze and perked ears for but a moment before fear compelled her to bristle the lowest hairs on her flattened ears and dart her gaze to the floor in front of her. There was a sheath on his belt, and at its sight she couldn't help but think of the knife hidden in her sleeve. She did not understand the emotions behind his grin in the slightest, forcing her heart into her stomach.

"I do," Nick admitted with fabricated ardor, trying not to let the world see the disappointment appearing on his face at her abrupt turn towards the floor. His ears became a little limper at the sight of her startled gaze and the bristling fur along the back of her neck, but he didn't let that dissuade him from approaching her.

"May I sit?" He politely asked, casually striding up to the middle of the bed's foot and raising out a paw towards the untidy mass of sheets beside her. Judy barely glanced at the claws of his feet, unable to raise her eyes any higher in case he brought his paw down on her once again. He had been as friendly to her in past days as he was being now, and look at the trail that had led her down.

"You may," She reluctantly allowed, her petrified heart pounding another beat faster and her paw weakly grasping the knife's leather handle inside her sleeve as the Prince lowered to rest beside her, his curled tail no more than a few inches away from the folds of her gown.

They both sat in silence for, from an outsider's perspective, years, she too grasped by fear to do anything other than incessantly monitor the gentle rise and fall of the Prince's core out of the corner of her vision while Nick fiddled with his fingers with his perked ears and stoic gaze urgently sweeping the furniture of the room.

Apologizing for everything he had done to her was his highest priority. Yet, even though he was now in her presence, that possibility seemed so far to reach. It would ruffle his conscious for eternity if he openly expressed with regret with no prior plan of action, and with his recently sustained injuries he had not the time for any preparation whatsoever. This was a delicate moment not just for them, but for the peace between their species in addition, and he needed to treat it as such. Conversation was the first step towards a better relationship.

So why was he squandering time debating with no one save himself? He was the master of conversation! He could hold an audience with the Pawpacy **[2]** for days on end! All he required was a beachhead to launch from and all would be on its way, completely dependent on his guiding paw. And judging by the familiar woven book neatly resting atop the Princess's pine dresser his beachhead had been found.

"I see you have taken my suggestion to heart!" He merrily commented, standing and suppressing a flinch from the spikes of pain shooting out from his bruises and hurrying to the dresser's side with an eager stature before he picked up the thick, delicate red book in his velvet paws and thumbed through its age-old yellow pages. " _'The Darkest of Nights'_ is not a novel to be taken lightly, yet you seem to have already completed it! Tell me, have you enjoyed its contents?"

"Yes, my Prince," Judy flatly answered, grasping the concealed knife marginally less tightly as the Prince turned away from her. Now that she had the time to study him without interruption or impropriety she noticed the aura surrounding him had changed considerably since their last fateful meeting - enough to almost entice her to lower her guard. _Almost._

She was not the vacuous catch of the day. Though terror had seized her her inquisitive intuition lived on. That decision would lead only to a life of more suffering and scars. She knew how Prince Piberius's wheels turned. All this warmth was merely part of a ploy to advance his own well-being.

"What is your opinion of the last chapter?" Nick casually asked, the cool air and his smooth voice easing the stress between them - from his perspective at least. He flipped to the last few pages of smoldering literature and scoured the tempting passages with ears perked, listening for the Princess's voice.

"It was fitting," She lied with a monotonous tone, unwilling to adjust her uncomfortable pose in case he attacked in her moment of weakness. Her nose twitched when the Prince only nodded at her answer, still flicking through the pages of the book.

In truth the end of the romance had been exceptionally vehement, enough so to place the novel as a whole atop the shelf where she kept the books that stirred her interest beyond normal boundaries. Yet the passion within it only made her chest ache more than it was already. She knew she would never know what it would feel like to be loved, to harbor the fire within herself as it blossomed into a luscious rose. She was engaged to a mammal who felt not that for her but a different kind of fire altogether. She would remain complacent, forever stuck in his hellish, gruesome limbo.

 _Oh god..._ She thought, her eyes widening as her conscious shrunk.

Nick turned over his shoulder after several seconds of deep thought, briefly dead to the world around him whilst he mindlessly thumbed through page after page. The Princess's voice was still as chilling as it had been before, a fact that stirred something inconspicuous and suppressed within his chest to bleed with regret.

 _Use your charm, Nicholas!_ He optimistically urged himself as he returned the book to its rightful place on the wardrobe and began to unhurriedly meander towards the Princess with his paws behind his back. His attention directed at her was spurred to even greater heights when his attentive nose caught a fresh whiff of her scent floating in the air above the smell of his blood still clogging his senses, filling the room with nervousness and worry. It made him beam.

"So here we are again," He slyly and silently began, halting his advance when his muzzle was no more than a few inches away from her madly twitching nose and trembling ears. Her blind gaze was cast to her side, staring out past her balcony and into the night sky that was only now beginning to show the first signs of dawn. She seemed inattentive to everything except the panicked expression on her face, entirely preoccupied within the emotions whirling underneath her skull. It was almost as if they were back on the balcony. How quaint.

"You are in need to be wooed by yours truly," He wryly diagnosed, raising a paw out towards her right cheek with the intent of stroking it gently. "And luckily, you shall be."

 _He will always use you as nothing more than a tool._ Judy told herself, her mind driven into a state of deep and silent hysteria and her heart pounding at the premise of living the remainder of her life with an unrequited affection plaguing her. _You are solely a means to an end for him. You remember what he said - he_ despises _you with every inch of his being! He scarred you before, and he will harm you again! It is only a matter of time before he strik-_

In the instant the tips of the Prince's fingers touched her barren cheek she scrambled backwards, the world suddenly restored to its previous terror. She gripped the concealed knife tensely as she landed midway up the bed, but she did not reveal it, instead keeping it in her sleeve and sparing only curt breaths while surveiling the Prince's surprised expression and extended paw without a moment of ease. Every inch of her body was concurrently trembling and still, petrified by fear yet spurred on by the prospect of an attack. Her frenzied mind was blank other than an image of a bloodied bed with her body sprawled over it. That future was so close to reality. She had never been more frightened.

Nick reeled backwards at her sudden lurch, partially withdrawing his paw as his startled gaze connected with hers. It was swimming in more fear than a fish would swim in water. And now that his senses had been fully alerted he noticed the scent of, not just her, but the bed, the entire room, _everything_ , was all of absolute dread - not childish nervousness, as he had thought before, but the fragrance one would smell in a prison cell of a tortured being. Yet that did not rise to the ice atop the mountain compared with what his keen eyes caught hidden in her sleeve.

It was only a flash of silver against her lavender blouse, but the sight of it for barely an instant was adequate to draw all the surviving warmth from his expression.

 _A... knife?_ He weakly identified in bewilderment, too stunned to prevent his ears from collapsing behind his head or to stop the throbbing torment quickly rising in his chest. _She was going to stab me? But... but... but I wanted to apologize! I thought-_

It was that word that brought his world crashing and burning down around him. Time slowed as he repeated it over and over and over, temporarily withdrawing his vision from the Princess to be replaced with nothing but the void of his mind.

 _Thought._

Only in the moments when his heart was most vulnerable did he see his mistakes. Over the weeks where he had been so focused on peace, trying to secure it for all mammals within the Empire, he was using exclusively his mind. But that had left an emptiness in his chest, an emptiness brought on by stress and frustration and a thousand other foul emotions and an emptiness he filled with violence. As his ideas thrived, his heart rotted, and he had taken it all out on the terrified rabbit cowering with a knife before him.

 _Did she believe I was plotting to kill her?_ He downheartedly pondered, horrified at the notion, but something deep within the Princess's eyes told him she would have killed him had the chance been available. The final strings of sanity that held him upright snapped as his eyes fell to the purple bruise on the side of her cheek. He had done that to her out of cold blood: out of an insatiable thirst for punishment. How could he have ruined something so innocent, so pure? It was not like him! Yet again, neither was he. Power had driven him over the edge.

Finally time resumed its normal pace, all the heart wrenching sounds and horrid smells of the room returning instantly, but all he could do was feebly smile as his pitiful gaze glossed over.

Judy instantly recognized that something about him was conflicting with the murderous tyrant her fearful mind had painted so vividly. In a single instant he had gone from looking stunned to entirely awful, his body limp and his expression so floundering in misery that for a moment she was worried she would soon be drowning in it as well.

 _It is but a trick._ She frantically reassured, unwilling to loosen her grip on the knife in her sleeve and only half believing what she was telling herself. _This is a rouse to lure you into the open! But he'd never cry, would he? He would not let himself... It is not like him..._

Nick let the water building in his eyes begin to run down his cheeks in long trails, strained, sad wheezes beginning to force their way out of his chest shaking him as the Earth shakes mountains. He could only make out a mass of grey and lavender on the bed, a mass of grey and lavender so abused by him she was willing to end his life. He deserved nothing more.

"I'm sorry," He manage to choke out from his hysterically smiling muzzle, but his rasps were so disruptive that he was certain the Princess did not hear a word of his apology - not as though he could see her had she. Entirely miserable and losing the energy needed to properly function by the moment, all he did was slowly back away from her with trembling steps until he found his back against the room's stone wall. He slid down to his rear humiliated, his paws pressing into his eyes as he wept and the pain from his sore bruises only making his tears that more sour.

Judy watched him closely with a startled gaze, suddenly more terrified about his state of mind rather than what he was going to do to her. She had heard his voice, albeit barely, and those two words had shaken her to her quivering core. She doubted he would have even _considered_ uttering that phrase but two days ago. The genuine sincerity of his voice was truly breathtaking, but in combination with the rawness and vulnerability of his weak wheezes and tears she suddenly found she could no longer retain her grip on the knife's handle, and she let it fall onto her bed while she cautiously scooted to its foot, all while never breaking her stare.

"My Prince Piberius," She reassuringly and bewilderingly started after what felt like a perpetuity of listening to him discretely weep, the pitiful sounds of which were beginning to draw out her more comforting instincts while sorrow pushed into her, but her words became jumbled in her throat and she very nearly jumped from her fur when the Prince whirled his fiery green gaze up to stare at her.

"Don't call me that name!" He venomously hissed, leaving her wide-eyed and limp eared with shock, yet almost as soon as the flames had risen in his gaze they were gone, replaced with his own shock and regret.

"I don't deserve it," He frailly elaborated, his sluggish gaze falling to the floor before his neck gave out. He caught his head in his paws, letting his palms slip into his sore eyes while the torrent of tears leaving them became even more catastrophic. Judy could only stare at him, dumbfounded.

"Prince Wilde," She heard herself breath, beginning to tremble under the weight of a thousand thoughts and hardly believing what she was saying.

"I'm so sorry," He feebly repeated, wheezes and whimpers racking his body like a gale against an isolated trunk. Judy straightened her ears, harking to every distressing whine and tortured tremor with a thoughtful and worried frown. Had she to watch him in this state for much longer...

"I- I... I-" Nick stuttered, his claws digging into his forehead as vexation and irritation poured over him. There was so much he wanted to say, but he had so little voice. He was as wordless as a newborn kit, still struggling for an ounce of speech. And he was so _infuriated_ at himself for that. Had he been any stronger he would have torn his own ears off.

"There is no excuse for what I have done to you," He faintly decreed, his blood boiling as his tears ran thin, all drained onto his now damp white doublet. "All my life I have been surrounded by war. When Peace arrived I greeted her with my claws and permanently scarred her gentle face. I have tarnished all of this-"

He raised his paws from his eyes for barely an instant to motion to the tranquil room around them.

"-because I have let my lust for power compromise the name of peace. With what little remains of my honor I extend my deepest apologies for all I have ruined. I deserve not your forgiveness, or anything more from you, for that matter. I am no better than those brigands who attacked you, all due to the fact I am an incompetent villain!"

 _You are nothing but that!_ He hatefully screamed, conceding all other feelings to the self-fanned flames burning within him. _A miscreant! Wrongdoer! Felon! You took something so perfect and tarnished it! Look at her face! Look what you have done to her!_

Nick willingly obeyed, and through his fingers he peeked a sight of the Princess's face and the purple bruise across her right cheek. In the dim moonlight he caught sight of three red stripes across it, the places where his claws had torn at her flesh. He couldn't stand to look at the results of his actions for more than a few seconds, his fingers snapping his clouded vision shut as guilt beset every extremity of his body.

"Nicholas..." Judy lightly began, his hopeless expression prying at her ribs. Suddenly all she wished was to see him radiant again - to cast away this facade of sadness and guilt and to take on the face of the sarcastic, tender fox for whom her heart soared. She would forgive him for all his actions without a glance behind if that meant they could finally begin what she had hoped would come to pass for oh so long. If it meant that Prince Wilde would be here to stay...

"I cannot see you this way for a second longer," She softly confessed, her heart aching, her feet sliding down the foot of her bed, her burning body intent on embracing his. But she couldn't take but a pace before his paws were on his knees and his frowning, teary gaze focused on his legs.

 _You deserve punishment._ He harshly insisted, his limp ears deaf to everything except his roaring blood and pounding breast. He wouldn't refuse what he warranted.

Holding his right paw out in front of him he studied it spitefully, the image of the Princess's ruined cheek flashing before his eyes. It was _this_ paw that had caused so much harm to something so exquisite.

His eyes fell to his sword's handle, protruding from his sheath as if a reed in a river. It was tempting. His paw was so exposed, so vulnerable to being struck off...

"I abused you so very much," He flatly declared, gulping in misery as he unsheathed his short blade with his left paw and held the weapon in the air, his eyes scouring it relentlessly. He was leaning over the execution block, ready to receive his justified sentence.

Judy felt her spirits sink into an abyss when his ominous, glossed gaze connected with hers one final time while he raised his sword and held it against his right wrist.

"I deserve this," He dolefully reassured, the wretched feeling in his heart beating to a pulp as he looked at the tip of the blade pressed against his wrist. He took several deep, quick breaths, flexed his arm, and pushed with as much strength as he could conjure.

 _NO!_

In a matter of instants Judy felt her paw flying back to the dagger she had left on the white sheets of the bed while her legs propelled herself forward. Every morsel of her body was spurred on by a panicked rush, her mind processing at such speeds that she hardly knew what her intent was until the blade of her dagger collided with the tip of Nicholas's sword, the hard strike sending it flying into the air in the moment before it pierced his flesh.

"You idiot fox!" She furiously snapped, throwing her knife across the room while his sword bounced away with loud clanks. Her flaming purple gaze was burning the fur on his confused, startled face, but she refused to soothe her affection-driven wrath.

"You would willingly slice off your own paw?" She fervidly growled, taking his limp paw he had been so close to severing in her grasp and holding it in front of his wide eyes that refused to leave her face. "Then what shall I take in its stead when we are married?"

"You did not allow me punishment," He tonelessly observed, shocked, searching her outraged expression from her twitching nose to her folded, bright red ears for the reason she denied him his justified retribution.

"Why?" He quietly pressed, perplexed yet unsure of how to feel.

"Because I forgive you!" She hissed, throwing his paw at the patches of white linen peeking from in between the green laces of his doublet and shaking her head back and forth with an intense scowl. "It is Prince _Piberius_ who is to blame, not you! I love you, yet you would thoughtlessly-"

The air between her and Nicholas became as hot as the sun in the time it took a leaf to come to rest upon a stalk of grass. Both of them sent their ears rocketing upwards skittishly, their hearts lurching with them as a single unit hammering against their ribs at a thunderous rate. Their paws became damp with nervous sweat almost instantaneously, and their shocked, awkward eyes formed a motionless bond.

"Did... have..." Nick loosely stuttered, finding it almost impossible to formulate a mere word, let alone a sentence, with the tender thoughts sent by his heart to disrupt his mind. "Do my ears deceive me, or have you used the word..."

"Yes," She anxiously breathed, her voice afflicted by nervousness and insecurity. She had never uttered that phrase to any mammal outside of her blood. It racked her nerves, suddenly leaping to its inevitable conclusion, but to her it felt so very truthful. Yes, she loved him more than the air she breathed.

Nick had experienced this sudden and swift feeling of rapture before during lewd experiences with the unmarried vixens of the Empire, but never to this polar extreme, nor without any physicality whatsoever and a prior night of immense pain. He couldn't quite put into words what was happening to him, but he opened his mouth regardless, sneaking his paw to clutch the Princess's resting in her lap as his heart began to soar out of the pit it had dragged itself into.

"I think I love you too," He confessed, gently stroking the back of her paw with his thumb. Something passed over Judy at his reply, the tone of his voice stirring a feeling unearthed for the first time inside her torso. She nodded at him thankfully, still half stunned about what was happening.

The air was as still as a mountain lake, their eyes still glued to the other and their pawhold only becoming stronger. It was the final taste of the sweet calm before the inevitable frenetic storm.

Judy forced her muzzle into his, her tongue pushing through his lips and drawing out his enticing flavor. Her arms flew around his neck, firmly locking her in place. She rolled her body up against his, grinding against him lewdly as his strong paws made their embrace even more intimate by venturing into her nightgown to caress her inner thigh and tug at her short fluffy tail while his tickling tail curled tightly around her calf. She lustfully moaned at the touch and pushed her fur deeper against his, wrapping her legs around his waist as he began to grind his body back.

Their mouths were quickly becoming a field of battle, with their tongues as the wounded combatants. No matter how much she pushed her early advantage she was quickly losing the addictive sweetness of his teeth and lips, and eventually she was forced on the defensive by his overpowering tongue as the battle shifted into her own mouth. He forced his way into the far back of her mouth, almost pushing his long, slender tongue down her throat, but his excursion only sated her appetite for his savor and she shuddered with delight at the sudden flood of nothing but him.

She forced herself to crack open her eyes, relishing in the fact that the Prince's gaze was locked with hers desirously. She wanted him - _all_ of him, from those captivating emeralds to his foxy tail - right here and right now, to make up for all the romance they had missed out on, and she wasn't afraid to send him that message with a groan and harsh tugs on his neck fur.

His paws stopped wandering, one of them grasping her partially-covered rear suggestively while the other slid up her spine, tickling her back fur and drawing another squeak from her lips. She pressed her hammering chest against him and rolled her tongue around her mouth in unison with his while he slid his back up the wall he was leaning on, shifting on his feet and gripping her tightly as they came to a trembling stand.

They swayed like a drunkard, her gown becoming as tight as a ship in a storm while sweat began to drench her fur in salacious thoughts, their steps heavy and slow as the bed crawled out of the edge of her gaze until it was right below her.

She disconnected from his body while his paws retreated from underneath her clothes, and she fell onto the mattress with a bounce, the Prince's lips following her down as her eyes flew shut. She backed away from the edge of the bed until she felt the soft touch of her silk pillow cases on the backs of her ears, her pace painfully slow as the Prince crawled on top of her, keeping up with her from above without daring to disrupt their drawn-out kiss.

It was only when they were both situated with several inches of air between them that their tongues returned to their now gasping mouths. Their hungry gazes reconnected as they struggled for air, yet before she was even halfway done panting she found her paws tugging at the laces on the Prince's doublet, hurriedly pulling them loose one by one as he awkwardly struggled to remove his trousers with a single paw, the other occupied keeping him above her.

She could hardly feel her numbed heart pounding by the time the last string on his doublet came loose, and she pulled it off him as he maneuvered his arms out of it while concurrently kicking off his dress pants, leaving him in alluringly loose white undergarments. Without a second thought she put her paws to work again, pulling his long undershirt off while he stripped himself of his pants. If she thought her body was hot underneath her light clothes then he was truly scorching, his orange and white fur flames and embers.

With his secondary layer of attire cast aside all that covered the Prince was a small pair of drawers that left very little to her lewd imagination. He was panting even harder and more frantically than before, his entire body exposed to her prying eyes that, no matter where they were staring at his magnificent form, were inevitably drawn to his groin.

The bulging apparatus beneath the thin cloth sheath was alluringly close. Never before had she seen another mammal nude, save for crude diagrams in her novels and the day after their first encounter that had left her with a vision of his rear lodged in her thoughts for most of the morning. It was such a massive leap to take to see him like that...

Her own groin was beginning to sop with sweat and other fluids while the Prince's musky scent continued to drive her insane. She wanted him to consummate their relationship _now_. She couldn't resist the urge for even a moment longer. With an inviting squeak she slipped her paw under her gown.

"Wait," Nick blurted out, grabbing her by the wrist as his body began to tremble out of nervousness. Her extraordinarily purple eyes flew up to his, intrigued and surprised by his outburst, and he tried to minimize the regret building up in his expression while he took her paw into his.

"I don't think we should do this," He remorsefully announced, slowly shaking his head, his heart pumping almost as quickly as the Princess's that he could feel pulsing from her palm. "My Judith, with all my heart I want to lay with you, but not now. It is too improper. I don't want our first time to be like... _this_."

"Do you trust me?" She suddenly queried, squeezing his large paw with both of hers as she raised it onto her chest and pulled it close to her heart. He frowned in confusion at her question, partially taken aback by it, but he answered without a second thought.

"With every ounce of my body, I do," He fervidly assured, lowering his muzzle ever closer to hers. She nodded at his answer, her face heating up in anticipation of what she was about to do. Before now she had never thought about doing something so primal, so _savage_ , but if consummation was _metaphorically_ off the table, then this was an equally pleasing substitute.

"Then hold still," She staunchly ordered, scooting her hips backwards so that she was sitting upright. She wrapped her small arms around his shoulder blades and pulled him closer to her, breathing on his neck fur shakily.

"What are you-" He inquisitively started, but she plunged her chin into his neck before he could finish. He gasped at the massaging touch, his frown fleeing as he was drowned in a fresh scent cascading off her. He felt his eyes widen at its unfamiliar yet instantly recognizable fragrance, and his already trembling limbs became as wobbly as a river's course as she pressed even deeper into him.

"Marking!" He managed to exclaim before his strength gave out, sending him falling onto his side in a state of utter bliss. He rolled as much as he could in the brief moments before he crashed chest-up onto the sheets, his head bouncing on the pillows as the Princess moved her paws onto his shoulders and rubbed her chin across his chest fur.

He pulled her close and arched his back, squeezing his eyes shut while a strained expression became entrenched onto his open muzzle. No mammal in their right mind would mark another, even if it was their partner! It was the taboo of civilized societies! A pointless act now that marriage was a viable option! Yet the way in which her scent flooded his fur, permanently entrenching itself into his coat, was so very _seductive._ He forced all his resistance into the deepest chasm of his soul and let her take complete control over him.

 _This fox..._ Was all Judy could think before her lustful urges silenced her while she streaked the Prince's shoulders and biceps with her overpowering scent. She kept her eyes closed so that she was able to roll her entire face across his soft belly fur, burying herself in it as if it was her den. She loved his scent, the delightfully sweet aroma that was quickly fading as her odor took its place on him to form a patchwork smell of both their bodies.

She moved her head downwards, rolling over the bulge in his groin tempestuously and drawing a whine from him before she pushed her cheek against his chest, stroking him up the full length of his torso. She wanted to keep this moment alive forever...

As she brought her chin across his neck again, though, he flinched and made a terrible whimpering sound. She pulled away from him instantly, her eyes wide and ears alerted. The moonlight must have been reflecting off a mirror because his fur was almost flaming, but her heart fell into her stomach as she finally took a long look over his completely revealed body.

The stab on his neck had opened again, revealing bright red blood that she had failed to notice while he had been towering over her. Yet as she went to stroke the wound none of the liquid stuck to her paw. It had been dried for some time. That wasn't but half of what caused her distress, because in the light she caught sight of multiple, strikingly purple bruises underneath his white fur. How she hadn't seen them as he hovered over her she hadn't the faintest idea.

"What..." She worriedly started, but her voice caught in her throat as her eyes returned to his. They were barely cracked open, opened just enough to reveal the euphoria he was experiencing, yet what caught her attention was the large, truly horrifying bruise across most of the left side of his face. In the previously dim light it had been hidden under his dark fur.

"The Emperor knocked some sense into me," He solemnly answered, anticipating her question from her appalled amethysts and suddenly shaken scent.

Panic flooded over her at his nonchalant response, her ears tucking against her gown while her breathing became deep and heavy, seeded with outrage. How could the Emperor stand to do this to his own blood? It was a heinous, horrendous act! He deserved a trial for such a crime! She'd have his-

"Calm yourself, my Judith!" Nick assertively soothed, the violent frown on the Princess's face causing discomfort to flower within him. He gently rested his palms on her cheeks as darkness returned to the room, pulling her eyes back down to him as they calmed, and he comforted her further by gently rubbing her chin with his tail.

"I needed that message," He softly revealed, stroking her face with a loving beam. It took Judy another second to smile back. Now wasn't the time for such angry thoughts, and if Nicholas was certain that the injuries he suffered were a benefit then she would contain her discontent. She would do anything for him.

"I think it is your turn," She warmly announced, pushing her paws into his dense neck fur as she rolled beside him. He perked his ears as his paws fell to either side of her head, his whole body turning over at once so that he was above her as if she was a quarry and he a hunter. Passion was once again flooding his chest, his smile fading into an expression of desire as he moved his paws down to her staggeringly damp dress and began to tug. Her craving expression brought on by his fingers as they stroked against her groin only sent him deeper into madness.

She didn't need a valid reason to strip her upper body of her lavender blouse. With both her paws she grabbed its silk hem and drew it up over her, the heat trapped under it spilling into the air along with the powerful stench of her excitement. She wanted him to mark her as fervently as she had him. She wanted to be no-one's except _his_. Judging by those breathtakingly green eyes of his, her wish was his command.

A few more tugs at her dress and one final pull of her blouse was the effort needed to leave her all but nude, her only garment a small pair of sopping blue panties. The fur on her chest speedily raised up and down as she watched the Prince's astonished eyes scour over her entire body, yet she couldn't restrain her paws from limply laying on opposite ends of the pillow supporting her or halt her knees from curving inward. Every inch of her was trembling, and as Nicholas leaned towards her face and pressed his torso against hers she felt him doing the same.

"Judith" He ecstatically breathed, wrapping his arms around her compact body. His desperate gaze only made her hotter.

"Nicholas," She breathed back, her paws around his neck as the full weight of his body pressed down on her. She plunged her muzzle into his again, the two of them sharing an impassioned kiss that quickly deteriorated into him rolling his face up against hers. She squeaked in delight, pulling him closer to the point where she could feel their furs beginning to knot.

"Don't ever stop!" She choked out as his head traveled across her chest, leaving a strong trail of his smell. He paused for a half second, raising his devious eyes to stare at her with an accompanying grin.

"Not until I have made sure the world knows that you. Are. _Mine_ ," He wryly growled, rubbing the underside of his muzzle against her covered groin.

By the time they fell asleep against one another their bodies were as soaked as if they had been submerged in a river and left to dry on the sand. The first rays of dawn light illuminated their romantic, intimate, and jaded embrace.

* * *

 **[1] - I really wanted to write "I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire!" here but then I'd have to put in Obi Wan saying "Your new Empire?"**

 **[2] - Papacy**

 **Dawwwwww...**

 **Rewritten 6/30/17**


	12. Intermission 1

**This is NOT a chapter, and shall not be treated as such. For the latest release, please return to Chapter 10.**

 **This is an Author's Note regarding the plot of the story.**

 **Generally I write each chapter independently, with occasional callbacks to previous chapters or events. This makes the plot of the story as a whole very difficult for me to comprehend. As I read over the generally negative or mixed reviews for the past few chapters, I see several issues within the fabric of the story that need to be corrected. Most notably, the causes of Nick's generally poor attitude towards the mammals around him.**

 **This has caused me a great amount of grief, knowing that I could have done better for you, the readers. Therefore I have taken it upon myself to re-write several parts of the story that will greatly improve its quality. Specific chapters I shall be focusing on will be 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Character-wise, Marshal Certus, for you but one of the Marshals of the Empire, will be greatly expanded upon given that he is crucial to the story's plot. While the edits surrounding him will be almost unnoticeable to an outsider, when chapter 11 is released on the 30 June I heavily recommend that you return to the chapters listed above and focus in on his actions particularly. Nick's rather abrupt changes will, hopefully, be fully justified after this edit.**

 **Without too many spoilers, I can assure you with the new information presented that one will be able to infer who the fox causing a rift between Nick and Judy is. I hope you continue to read this story and that these changes or the story's current state do not dissuade you from continuing to read.**

 **With all my apologies and well wishes,**

 **Tsar Volkov**

 **UPDATE**

 **The edits mentioned above have taken place, however throughout ALL of the story's chapters. Before you continue, please reread or skim over said chapters, as it will greatly expand upon upcoming events. As a gift, feel free to read the bonus scene included in this "chapter"!**

* * *

 _A single flower_

 _Colored blue, yet madness plagues_

 _Beware the goblets_

* * *

The world was an infinite cycle of fire and ice, yet it began with an inferno. A steel, bloody blaze that consumed any who approached it and that nigh destroyed all. It was followed by a freeze - the smell of seawater, an Arctic gale, the clash of swords.

Then silence came. The ad infinitum process of heating and cooling abruptly ended, leaving not even the smallest mark of season. All seemed lost, forever frozen in ice.

Holocausts followed. A rage set in diamond. The conscience of the universe became wrapped with iron, its fur concealed, its eyes broiling, its body a mere skeleton. The world was set aflame, and when all had finished burning it was blackened. Not even the wind stirred.

Yet the cold returned; this time, it was for eternity. Freezing corpse after corpse, ruin after ruin, yet it did not touch the iron and the steel and the skeleton of the conscience. It remained, wandering the ashen wastes until the day that he too joined the dust.

Nick woke with a start, throwing himself upwards with his fur bristling and tail erect in fright. His frantic eyes searched the room as the cold sweat underneath his fur began to dry, leaving him staring at the mammal beside him with his heart still pounding and paws still shaking.

Her dreams were warm and cozy. He could see it on her face touched ever so gently by the mid-morning light. That hardly soothed him.

He ran his paws up and down his chest, searching for any anomalies. His dream had been so vivid. He could have sworn it had all been reality - the burning all across him, the freezing of his body, the tearing of his skin by weapons. How... how was he still here?

"I'm so sorry," He shakily muttered, turning towards the mammal sleeping beside him who didn't even shift at his words. He lowered himself towards her, his frightened eyes wide as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her scent consume him once again.

"Sorry," He weakly repeated, clutching onto her even tighter as guilty tears began to plague his vision. "Sorry."


	13. Chapter Eleven

**BEFORE YOU READ; AN IMPORTANT UPDATE REGARDING CHANGES**

 **After much,** ** _much_** **editing and several complete revamps of scenes I am very proud to reveal to you the BETTER A Fox In Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction! If you had not realized, massive edits have been undertaken that have corrected grammatical, spelling, plot, character, and contradictory errors. Before you continue with the story I must advise that you return and re-read it from the prologue onward (ie the start, everything's changed!), otherwise upcoming events may appear confusing and out-of-the-blue.**

 **Without further ado, here's the (late, sorry about that) Chapter 11!**

 **(As a brief not regarding the names of characters) I only call Judy "Judy" and not Judith and Nick "Nick" and not Nicholas only when the story is set from their perspective as a means to avoid confusion. I heavily doubt that in future chapters they will begin calling one another Nick/Judy given that their causal names (opposed to their formal names of Princess Hopps and Prince Wilde/Piberius) _are_ Judith and Nicholas. I see no reason to further simplify their titles.**

* * *

"Are you positive you are alright, my dearest Judith?"

"Without a doubt," Judy reassuringly confirmed, tilting her radiant gaze and toothy smile towards her stoic father, standing at her side under the cloudless sky. His gaze echoed fury and sadness, his amber eyes studying over her face and undoubtedly the scratches entrenched upon it, but she did not let her warm expression fall until he turned his gaze downwards with a gruff grumble.

"If you forgive the Prince, then so do I," He begrudgingly mumbled, his paws tightly gripping one another behind his back as he looked on at the dozens of mammals in the field below them. Judy stifled a shivered at the deliberately suppressed hostility embedded in his voice and glanced past him, staring at the Emperor who was leaning over her balcony's railing with his tail motionless between his legs and an even uglier expression on his face.

 _What has ruffled their ears?_ She internally questioned, stiffly resting her paws on the railing and squinting in the bright sunlight as she stared down at the formations of mammals skirmishing across the field, but she did not need to look far for the answer.

Nicholas was an outcast, meandering around the thin crowds of Marshals and Lords who had gathered to watch their sons and the palace guards battle one another, with his downcast eyes staring at the short grass. His movements were stiff and slow, and even from here, sixty feet above him, she could see an upset frown on his brow and his jaw clenched in pain.

It disturbed her immensely seeing him so... _broken_. She had awoken from her blissful slumber just as the sun reached its peak to find him asleep, beset by nightmares as he weakly whimpered apologies over and over again. The rapture their passion had delivered them over the course of the night had fled from him entirely; guilt had taken its place.

Despite her insistence that she had forgiven him for his mistakes he remained steadfast and almost frantic in his belief that he and he alone was to blame for every setback they and their species had experienced. She had attempted to embrace him, but her comfort did little to ease the whirling emotions within him, and he had departed in the early afternoon with his head heavy and spirits low.

Judy felt her heavy ears collapse behind her teal gown as she watched Nicholas stalk up to Marshal Fenus, sending the short fox a welcoming grin as he came to a stop next to him, but the Marshal turned and hurried off with a disgusted expression plastered on his face and his ears flattened in hostility. Her heart wretched as Nicholas merely watched him go, limp-eared and wide-eyed as a disgraced scowl formed on his face.

It was painstakingly torturous watching him alone, surrounded by mammals who she now realized were sending him the occasional critical glare. It made her wish she could rebuke the lot of them and raise up his downtrodden heart.

"I cannot comprehend what incited him to act so violently," King Hopps coldly announced, his face perplexed, and Judy glanced at him to see him following Nicholas across the field with a frostbitten glare. "He has shown no signs of aggression before now. His entire demeanor has shifted."

"It is because of his blood's lust for power," The Emperor harshly grumbled in reply, and Judy darted her eyes onto the still spiteful fox as an inquisitive, defensive feeling rose up inside of her.

"How do you know that?" She frustratedly pushed, visibly irked by the Emperor's thoughtless statement, yet all the fox did was flick an ear at her. "You are his blood too, are you not? He should not be judged solely on the actions of his ancestors."

"You never met Tacitus, my dear," The Emperor growled, a snarl forming on his face as he slowly turned his dark gaze towards her. "The things Nicholas's father did to his own kind violate the tenants of _all_ religions. He was a monster to those close to him. Thankfully his divine punishment warranted his crimes. I silently hoped - _begged_ \- that Prince Wilde would not become him, that he would remain complacent with the authority he wielded, but after what he has inflicted upon you I am not so sure my prayers were answered."

Judy frowned at the Emperor as he turned back to the field with a final, wary blink. She would not believe that the cause of Nicholas's aggression towards her was brought on by his lineage - nor a desire for power, for that matter. She had had unaddressed reservations the night prior that the fire of their reunion had drowned, but now that they had been unearthed caution stirred within her.

No one - not even the Emperor - knew him as she did. They had not seen him so tender, so caring, so open. He was so loving to her, even if he was crafty, and had only acted out against her in seemingly random circumstances - regardless of if they were isolated or surrounded by onlookers. The more she thought of it, the more it seemed so out of place with his typically gentle and sarcastic character.

Her annoyed frown transitioned into a suspicious squint as her inquisitive eyes returned to Nicholas, who had wandered around the ongoing sparring and was standing at the far edge of the crowd. Something was amiss about everything transpiring around him. She couldn't tell what it was, and she hadn't the vaguest idea, but it was sucking at her, a leech draining her of comfort.

"The Marshals seem very... _vexed_ with Prince Wilde," The King noted, his tone as bitter as ever, and the Emperor nodded in agreement. Judy soundlessly grumbled at the two of them, perking her ears and straightening herself as her eyes caught sight of an armored figure approaching her betrothed from the shadow of the gatehouse.

"Aside from Marshal Certus," The Emperor added with a nod towards the armored fox now beside her fiance. It took her a moment, but Judy frowned at the bengal fox. A minuscule feeling of suspicion was rising up in her chest, and she hoped that it was unfounded, however it continued to grow until the feeling forced her gaze to the Emperor.

"Can you tell me of the relationship between Marshal Certus and the Prince, my Emperor?" She politely yet inquisitively asked, her supposition stirred, and the Emperor shrugged and nodded as his tail began to swish back and forth.

"There is not much to say of it," He indifferently started, locking his nonchalant green gaze with hers. "The Marshal has taken a liking to the Prince, I am aware of that much. Before, when he was Marshal Wilde, neither held the other's presence very often. They both enjoy wine and fine vintage, but aside from that they do not share many interests... None, in fact. Yet they have naturally gravitated towards the other."

Judy only nodded in understanding as she turned her wary glare back towards the Marshal, who was now guiding Nicholas along the edge of the crowd with his paw on his back.

 _Wine..._ She cautiously thought, her mind hard at work deconstructing the sight and smell of the vulgar drink. Its overpowering musk would make it easy to taint. In fact, hadn't the Prince been drinking vintage presented by the Marshal in the days before she was ambushed in the city? She remembered seeing him with a drink in his paws on many occasions...

 _Too many_ occasions for it to be a coincidence. And it had not been just in those instances; she recalled Nicholas mentioning he had drunk the sour beverage before their romantic dinner. Even atop that, Marshal Certus had _paw delivered_ him water from a spring in the days after his bout with Sir Caer! Truly, there was certainly evidence to suspect that _someone_ was fiddling with her fiance through means of tarnishing his drinks. Yet there were so many hypotheticals for her to draw an accurate conclusion. She'd have to investigate whether or not something foul and deliberate was the cause for their hardships herself.

 _Do not get too comfortable, Marshal._ She determinedly remarked with a suspicious squint at the unctuous fox. _I may not be a commandant of the law, however I shall pursue the true cause of my love's hardship until either I or you are run off the edge of the world._

Her mind running at ten thousand pages a moment, Judy swiftly spun away from the field of mammals, intent on hurrying out her suite and down the five flights of stairs as so her investigation could start, but before she had even taken a step away from her balcony's railing the cool breeze that had been blowing her father's and the Emperor's scents towards her switched direction.

Judy instantly felt her face turn a deep shade of red as she whirled around to stare at the two suddenly intimidating mammals. All she could do was awkwardly grimace as her ears disgracefully fell behind her head, made nervous beyond belief by her father's disturbed expression and the Emperor's straightened tail and demanding stare.

"I can explain..." She anxiously blurted out as her grin grew tenfold, the air filled with naught save her thick scent.

* * *

By the time Nick arrived in the Redford Courtyard where his day had begun so many hours before the sun was casting long shadows against the palace's high walls. He kept his gaze at his feet, slowly pacing around the bright square's encompassing gloomy veranda as his tail limply followed behind him. His eyes barely darted up as a well-dressed fox passed him, undoubtedly Admiral Dolosus, and he sent him a weak smile only to have a scowl returned.

With a loud, scathing thought and a self-loathing frown he collapsed into a wooden chair left in the darkest corner of the square, letting a paw fall onto his tired, sore eyes as he forcefully massaged them.

The events of the day had left him as wrought as a piece of bronze upon an anvil. He hardly recalled the morning - not that he had had much of one, thanks to his incessant, uneasy nightmares that had left him sleep-deprived - and the majority of the afternoon was spent alone in the confines of his mind, sorting through the emotions he had left unattended the night prior while monitoring the Marshals as they trained their small groups of students in the field before the Western Gate. With all his might he wanted to jump into the heat of their skirmishes and battle alongside them.

 _But that is not a possibility, is it, Nicholas?_ A voice scornfully rebuked inside his head, and Nick cut his massaging short as he blinked open his weighted eyes.

"No," He almost silently confirmed, his spirits sinking to a new low as his tail became limp on the stone ground.

If he were to take _any_ action now - whether it be as mundane as attending a meeting or as active as joining a sparring session - then who could say what would become of him? The problem was not in how he was being treated by the other officials of the Empire. It was rooted inside himself, deep within his soul. He was born from a fox obsessed with power, and all the harm he had put not only the Empire through, but the one mammal for whom his heart beat too, had been no one's fault save his own. Even now, after hours of inhibiting his roles in all the political squabble that took place over the course of a day, guilt and horror still plagued him like a storm cloud rooted in place.

Nick's weary eyes came down from the ceiling as his head flopped forward, the few foxes still in the courtyard catching his attention. Ambassador Dhani was among them, and after several seconds of blankly staring the bengal fox caught his gaze and turned away, urging his colleagues into a hallway with a frown on his brow and his voice harsh in tone.

Nick feebly raised from his chair, his ears behind his head and a hurt expression on his face as he raised out an apologetic paw towards the once friendly fox, but the Ambassador only sent him a final snarl as he disappeared from sight.

 _You deserved that._ A foreboding voice growled at him as he plodded over to lean against one of the many stone columns lining the square, his face suddenly exposed to the piercing sunlight. _Every fox this side of the River Rhine knows your crimes by now; so what are you going to do about it?_

"But Judith said-" He feebly started, his energy all but deceased, yet the terrible feeling rising up in his chest stole away his voice.

 _It does not matter if she has forgiven you!_ The voice irritably scolded. _Forgiveness does not grant innocence! Now, let me ask again. What are_ you _going to do?_

Nick only needed a few seconds to think about the question, and he found its final solution had already revealed itself to him during the most torturous moments from the night prior. He could still feel the cold steel against his wrist. He anxiously glanced down at his sheath, studying the hilt of his sword, but he didn't dare touch it.

"My Prince, how are you faring?" A voice suddenly asked, and Nick barely managed to lift his gaze up from the stone tiles of the courtyard. Two soft eyes and a caring beam greeted him, and he lightly smiled at the armored figure standing at the column opposite him.

"Marshal Certus," He amicably began, summoning what little strength the day hadn't taken from him and crossing his arms over his chest while suppressing a wince as pain shot up the entire length of his side. "I trust that the extra time you requested for training was used well?"

"Very well, indeed," The bengal fox confirmed with a polite nod, his facial fur a light grey in the bright sunlight and his ceremonial helm under his arm. "My students performed admirably in the long distance trials. If they maintain their fitness, they will be able to cover sixty miles over rough terrain in but half a week. They shall be fully trained warriors before the feast begins."

"That is pleasing to the ear," Nick thankfully admitted, his smile growing as the Marshal studied his face intently. The fox's respectful demeanor gradually shifted into a much more casual tone, and he stepped forwards with a paw extended and his ears perked.

"You are looking worn, my Prince Piberius," Marshal Certus reverently mentioned, guiding him away from the column and along the veranda with a paw on his back. Nick allowed the Marshal to maintain his intrusive touch, the sunlight periodically brightening and dimming as column after column passed by.

"I am feeling even more so," He wearily confessed, his ears falling behind his head along with his palisades of formality. "These past days have left me as tattered as a burning banner. This conflict with the other members of my father's court have especially taken a toll."

"That is why I took it upon myself to look past your offense and judge you by your character," The Marshal explained, his forgiving brown eyes glancing towards him. "I see you are still a dedicated fox deep down, my Prince Piberius."

"I suppose," Nick doubtfully agreed, shrugging and sighing as dubiety flooded him and as his guilty gaze fell to his feet, turning his voice a shade weaker. "And please, for future occasions, call me Wilde."

Much to his surprise the air remained silent, unstirred by the Marshal. The fox did not respond to his request, instead only slowing his pace and taking his paw off his back, and after several silent seconds Nick turned his curious gaze up to him. Greeting him was a twitching nose and two hard eyes, almost forming a hateful glare, and he couldn't help but feel disturbed by the sight. Yet as soon as apprehension entered him it departed, a reassuring smile radiating from the Marshal's muzzle as he came to a stop in front of him at the veranda's end.

"I assume you and Princess Hopps have recovered from your _misfortunes_?" He courteously noticed, flicking an ear towards him as his calculating eyes surveyed his hot body with a raised eyebrow. "I can smell the results of your reconciliation."

"You would be correct in that assumption," Nick stiffly acknowledged, grimacing while his cheeks burned and ears flattened.

"Excellent," Marshal Certus eventually announced, nodding in acceptance after looking over him for several strained moments while his twitching nose became still. "Our Prince and Princess require fair relations if our realm is to survive. But that is enough of politics. Would you care for a drink of wine in my suite, my Prince Wilde?"

Nick started to eagerly nod in answer, a gracious expression making its way onto his face. There would be no better way to end the long, tedious day than with a glass of Beardeaux vintage. But before he could accept the invitation a force slammed into him, sending him stumbling forward. He quickly caught himself before he lost his balance, his heart beating ten thousand miles an hour, and, with a bewildered expression rooted into his face, he whirled his gaze to his left to stare at the thing that had barreled into him.

"I'm afraid the Prince must decline that invitation, my good Marshal," Judith, in a bright teal dress and an urgent smile, hurriedly interrupted, her arm curling around his and her paw squeezing his dangerously tightly. "We have much to discuss!"

"Of what, my Princess?" Marshal Certus politely inquired, tilting his head as his gaze became genuinely interested. Nick raised a suspicious eyebrow at his fiance as the light from her expression faded, leaving raw panic.

"Of- of... Of-" She awkwardly stammered, her smile departing as alarm took over her face and as her wide gaze gradually fell to the ground. "Of... ehm..."

"Of our departure after the feast," Nick convincingly lied, squeezing Judith's paw back as his gaze rose to meet the Marshal's, and the bengal fox perked his ears and widened his attentive eyes.

"Oh!" He merrily exclaimed, indecisively flicking his stare between his casual grin and Judith's forced smile and ever reddening ears. "Where are the two of you travelling?"

"My father's estate in the mountains," Nick decisively answered, his face beginning to turn pink underneath his facade of certainty and thick facial fur. He didn't _enjoy_ lying to the friendly fox, however he was too invested to back down now. Besides, if whatever had spurred Judith to begin this fabricated story of hers was important enough to mislead the Marshal, then he could skip a glass of wine - despite how much he yearned for one.

"We leave the morning after the feast - with the lords' entourages," Judith keenly played along, perking her ears even higher than they already were and spurring him to move away from the Marshal with two sharp squeezes of his paw. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have urgent need to plan our departure!"

"The Princess is correct," Nick concurred, profusely nodding in agreement as he half-hurriedly strode away from the Marshal with a departing grin. "Until next time, my Marshal."

"And you, my Prince Wilde," The Marshal warmly replied, beaming back at him. The fox sent both Judith and him a farewelling bow before he departed down the veranda with his paws behind his back, his perky tan tail continuously coming in and out of the light.

As soon as the fox's eyes were trained off them Judith forced him to speed up his pace away from the courtyard, piloting them down a bright, outdoor hallway that led towards the palace's gardens with her fingers firmly intertwined with his. He was more than willing to abide; raw curiosity, devoid of any anger, had swept over him like a summer shower.

"My Judith, what has-" Nick started, his voice hushed, but his betrothed silenced him with a pointed _Shh!_ , her ears flicking towards a side path leading up to the veranda partially obstructed by hedges. Nick turned his own ears towards it, picking up the sounds of gravel crunching underpaw, and a moment later two mammals, a lord in a yellow tunic and an arctic fox in a captain's uniform, emerged. They passed by them without a second thought, too involved with discussing crop rotation to bother sparing even a glance.

"I am hesitant to trust Marshal Certus," Judith quietly yet sternly admitted once their conversation had fizzled out behind them.

"What?" Nick apprehensively hissed in disbelief, keeping his voice as quiet as he could despite his rising confusion and suspicion. "For what reason?"

"I cannot say here," She flatly replied, her eyes combing their desolate surroundings as they stepped off the stone floor of the pathway and onto the gravel of another, sunlight engulfing the both of them. Nick kept his mouth shut as they passed underneath an arched hedge and disappeared into the cool shadows of the garden's hedgerows.

"This may be difficult to accept, my Prince, however I believe that Marshal Certus is plotting against you," Judith declared once the humdrum of the palace was far in the distance, a small grassy clearing lined with hedges appearing at the end of the dim passage.

"Do you have evidence for such a consequential claim?" Nick seriously asked, immensely unsettled by his betrothed's assertion, as his ears fell behind his head and as the light from the sun once again blinded him. Her fingers unraveled from his as she pulled away, her gaze briefly falling towards the ground along with her long ears.

"Well, nothing physical," She downheartedly admitted, and at her answer Nick slowly began to shake his head, only inciting her to perk her ears and raise her tone. "But think about the circumstances of your aggressiveness, my fox! You were only ever defiant to my presence _after_ you had come in contact with a drink delivered by the Marshal, whether it be wine or water! There is an unscrupulous aura about that fox! Surely you must be the least part suspect of that coincidence!"

"No. I am not, my sweet Judith," Nick sternly denied, the strength in his straight ears slowly faltering as all-consuming regret reentered his form. "My actions are indefensible, and it warms me that you would go to such great lengths to excuse them, but your contentions have a foundation of sand and mud. Marshal Certus is respectable and loyal; I doubt he would betray his own crop, let alone his species. The acts of violence I have perpetuated against you were no one's save my own fault, made sour by my own blood. I relish in your forgiveness, but I _must_ moderate my powers from this day forward if we are to still be married."

"Listen to yourself speak!" Judith swiftly exclaimed in a disturbed manner, a small, disagreeing frown forming on her brow as she took a tiny step away into the clearing. "Nicholas, I love you, but surely you must be kidding! You cannot be this blind to the truth."

She brought a paw up to rub her temple as she backed away from him, her angrily shut eyes tilted towards the grass. Nick only marginally perked his ears at her sudden stubbornness, ever so slightly tilting his head as her passionate and devoted gaze returned to his after a further moment's break.

"Now that all darkness between us has passed, would you still make the same decisions that have led us here?" She solemnly, almost dolefully, asked as she wandered back to him. Nick didn't have to think of his answer for more than a short instant.

"Never," He honestly answered, horrified at the notion of repeating his crimes again, and he took her paws in his own once with a small, feeble grin. She only smiled back at him lightly, but within moments her paws were squeezing his back with ten times the intensity.

"I know," She soothingly replied, yet her soft tone steadily stiffened until her determined demeanor returned. "And no matter what you say to dissuade me, I will not stop denying that _you_ are the root of all this uncouth behavior until I have exhausted all other possibilities. So please, I _beg_ you, do not preeminently exonerate Marshal Certus of all guilt. Not at least until after I have looked into his character."

Nick slowly blinked at the two beautiful pools of purple before him, immense amounts of burning guilt building up behind his mask of tenderness. If only she could let this fantasy of hers sink. His eyes briefly glanced down at her still swollen, still clawed cheek, and pain erupted from his chest at its pitiful sight.

Yes, it had been his fault for torturing her so; not the Marshal's, not some warlock's, but his alone. It was his burden to carry alone, for that matter. But if she needed to investigate the Marshal for betrayal and subordination - no matter how ridiculous that sounded - then who was he to stop her? As long as she didn't ruffle too many ears, then eventually she would understand...

"Alright," He meekly conceded, forcing his grin to become even wider, and Judith triumphantly yet gently beamed back at him. Her paw tugged at his, urging him to follow her the short distance across the clearing to rest on a short stone bench, warmed by the sun. A life size statue of an armored figure grasping a sword with both paws towered behind it, its granite surface made as white as a cloud. His armor shone in its shimmering but ever retreating light, and with a worn sigh Nick closed his eyes and rested the tip of his tail atop their pawhold, the shame within him not the slightest part diminished.

"My father and the Emperor _noticed_ that my scent had changed," Judith lightheartedly revealed with a nervous gulp, and Nick perked his limp ears and glanced at her red cheeks with an intrigued eyebrow raised.

"How did they react?" He curiously pushed, feeling his own fur beginning to flame. Judith turned her stressed gaze to his with a wry grin, a sight he would have normally seen upon his own face.

"Not well," She dryly confessed, the light in her eyes refusing to dim, instead tinting pink from a concoction of affection and embarrassment. "My father held me for several hours, hounding over my decision while ranting of how improper and _uncouth_ I have become. The Emperor was much more... _accepting_ to the change. Not pleased, yet not as resistant as the King."

"Speaking of your father, the lie you told Marshal Certus of how we were to travel to his estate in the mountains - was that a fabrication?" She eagerly went on, but her voice gradually became less and less lively until her disappointed ears fell behind her head and her downcast eyes cast down. "I suppose it was, wasn't it?"

"You will be delighted to know that among the Emperor's properties _is_ an estate," Nick reassuringly countered, his fond smirk growing in size and strength as Judith's expression lifted itself out of despair and back into the peaks of excitement. "From Wien it is a week's travel into the Southern Mountains, deep into the lake country. I know not how long the journey would take from here, but the reward of spending your days there would be well worth it. Many weeks have I squandered touring its grounds. In a word, it is stunning. If it pleases you, we could venture there after the feast has been concluded."

"Yes!" Judith feverishly exclaimed, her whole body straightening from a slump. Nick snickered at her enthusiasm, the zeal radiating from her form taking him by pleasant surprise.

"Of course, we will need the Emperor's permission for such an excursion," He swiftly added, his chest lurching and ears becoming limp as his eyes absentmindedly fell to blink at the three clean slices and bruise on her cheek. "I shall leave that for you to obtain."

"Do you fear that he will not treat you with justice?" Judith gently yet seriously asked, guiding his limp paw to tenderly stroke the scratches on the side of her face with her soft fingers.

"I fear not his anger, for it is just," Nick replied without hesitation, his wide eyes flicking back to lock with his betrothed's gentle glare. The three long stripes of red flesh across her face tussled with the fur on the back of his paw, shooting bolts of horror and shame through any cloud of happiness that remained floating about him.

"You inflate his emotions, Nicholas," Judith carefully soothed, pressing her cheek deeper into his paw as her gaze softened. "The Emperor, nor any mammal, for that matter, harbors no ill will towards you. Granted, he and his court have been... _irritated_ , but not to the extent which you torture yourself so. Given time they will move past their indignation. I _guarantee_ it, my poor fox. Just give them time."

Nick could only docilely grin at her, the raving emotions inside him preventing him from doing any more than that. She always seemed so certain in her assurances. Only a rabbit would be so quick to action. At least she was still by his side. That warmed him.

 _Despite all the horrors you have inflicted upon her._ He silently added, suppressing a terrified shudder, but his thoughts were cut short as Judith perked her ears and darted her gaze behind him to one of the dim pathways leading out from the small clearing.

He turned towards it curiously, undeterred by his betrothed's suddenly wary expression, listening to the ever approaching crunching of gravel underneath the feet of several mammals. The wind was blowing away from the two of them, carrying their scent across the clearing and towards the nearing group.

This uncomfortable state of blindness lasted for only moments, for as soon as the echos of pawsteps had begun a black rabbit with white facial features appeared in the archway of the path, a lime tunic upon his chest.

His hard gaze swept the grassy enclave urgently, quick pants escaping from his chest. As soon as he caught sight of him and Judith his entire demeanor shifted to one of fury, and a shallow snarl emerged onto his muzzle accompanied by a bloody growl. Nick could feel his heart plummet to his feet at the fierce sound and the blood evaporate from his face from the heat of the rabbit's glare.

The newcomer shouted something in the tongue of rabbits through the hedged archway he had appeared from mere moments prior, and within seconds nearly a dozen rabbits were swiftly filing through the entrance. Two of them managed to stir the conscious buried deep underneath the fear and shame within him.

They were Judith's brothers, both visibly fuming with rage as they led the group towards him with a quickened pace. Prince Gregory's snarl was louder and larger than his brother's, and in the instant before he shouted violent curses he drew his sword from his sheath. The steel glint of its blade made the last bastions of sanity and security fall to the forces of absolute terror within his shaking body.

 _No._ He feebly whimpered, his saucer-wide eyes unseeing and his mind petrified, but he didn't dare touch his sword, even as the Prince's came down onto him.

* * *

 **A single flower...**

 **Last Edited 7/7/17**


	14. Chapter Twelve

**As a brief note for all future chapters; new passages will be uploaded at the 10th day of every month. That is, three updates a month - one every ten days. This may or may not be manageable, and is completely subject to change.**

 **Otherwise, Chapter 11 was not my finest work. The first half of chapter 12 was supposed to be the ending of 11, however due to time constraints and my own dissent I decided to move it back. With all the crap that both Judy and Nick have been through, dontcha think they need some down time? Me too. But not yet.**

 **These next three (maybe four) chapters will still be as chaotic as always.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy what's to come!**

* * *

"They're over here!" Ser Kinley fanatically called out to his accomplices from the hedged archway, his outraged expression and broiling gaze forcing Judy out of her seat. Her alerted ears homed in on the ever approaching crunch of gravel, undoubtedly the two Princes of trouble and their miscreants, but before she could restrain herself her eyes were locked onto Nicholas's stunned and troubled face.

"Nick!" She hissed into his ear, shaking his shoulder with her paw, but he remained absolutely motionless, numb to her and the world around them. Disgruntled and panicked she tore his sheath from his belt, holding its leather case in her tight grip as she whirled back to face the clearing.

Both of her brothers were on the verge of becoming savage, as were the almost dozen lords and sers flanking them, and they did not spare a moment to ease their panting as they stalked forward, their crimson gazes locked onto Nicholas. Prince Lucas let loose a vicious sound, but Prince Gregory's growl drowned it.

"Vile creature!" He hideously snarled, drawing his blade and preparing to strike at his stiff head. "Assault my sister, will you? Let this be a moment of repentance!"

"Halt your advances!" Judy staunchly commanded, dashing in front of betrothed in the moment before Prince Gregory brought his sword down with hers raised in defiance. He raised a marginal eyebrow at her, his anger not the slightest part diminished.

"Get out of my way," He fiercely hissed, his sword only a paw's length from the side of her neck. "This needs to be done."

"I shall not," She staunchly fired back, readying her fox-sized weapon with both her paws as Prince Gregory let loose a grumble. His gaze refused to leave hers, but the longer he burned into her the greater her tide of determination grew, only inciting the red within him to blister.

"Get her out of my way!" He viciously ordered, knocking the heavy blade out of her paws and sending it flying into the nearby hedges with a sudden sideways strike. Judy didn't have but an instant to react before Prince Lucas's arms were curled around her elbows, pulling her away from her brother's sword and Nicholas's frozen body. She resisted against him with all her might, attempting to break free and place herself between them once again, but Lucas's grip on her was too strong for any resistance whatsoever.

As she was dragged away the lords and sers who had accompanied her brothers moved in around the bench and statue, surrounding Nicholas and ensuring he had no means of escape - not that he attempted any such. Judy felt utter panic and fear sweep her chest like a tide as Prince Gregory raised his sword above his orange neck fur, mumbling some prayer under his breath before his blade began its descent towards him.

Judy did not have to remind herself she needed to break free. Stone cold resolve, as powerful as coal in a furnace, solidified in her joints, and a grievous expression took hold of her face as she wrapped her left foot around Lucas's ankle. With all her might she twisted, bursting through his tight grip as a pop came from his leg and as he let loose a painful caterwaul.

She went flying forwards, time having slowed down to the speed of a lake's current. The rabbits looking on at Gregory's attack were only just glancing over their shoulders, alerted by Prince Lucas's screech, when she catapulted herself over them. Her frantic purple eyes were cast downwards, following the sword that was falling ever closer to Nicholas's neck.

She glided towards the tall, life size statue behind the bench, seemingly as light as the air. Her arms reached the edgy granite surface before her feet, allowing her a split second to slide the ancient yet unused steel sword from between the two armored mitts gripping its hilt before her legs rejoined her. With a massive push she redirected all the momentum she had built during her glide into propelling herself towards her brother's sword, now no more than a finger's length away from Nicholas.

Her heart's racing pace furthered its assault against her ribs, time moving at a deathly slow rate, her brother's blade drawing ever nearer to its target. The instant she was in range of striking she swung her arm, mustering power from every ounce of her being and swiping the blade away from Nicholas just as its tip brushed against his fur. She couldn't stop herself from colliding with Prince Gregory, and as her body connected with his time suddenly sped up, faster than normal as they rolled away from the bench as a single unit.

She caught herself before he knew what had happened, his distraught expression inviting her to press the tip of her blade against his throat as his own weapon rolled out of reach. She shot onto her feet almost instantaneously, dragging his head upwards to meet her blade with a paw gripping the collar of his red doublet.

"Do not even _think_ of touching the Prince," She menacingly hissed, the shock in Gregory's expression gradually dying as his gaze indecisively darted between hers and the sword against his throat.

"That applies to all of you collaborators," She furiously announced, perking her bristling ears as her gaze swept the either distraught or silently grumbling rabbits staring at her. Prince Lucas was among them, his teeth bared in a painful grimace as he clutched his ankle from the comfort of the grass.

"I can hardly believe you would plot so mercilessly to _murder_ someone so close to me!" She scornfully rebuked, horrified at using a word as vile as _murder_ , but her teeth became bared as her eyes returned to the now defiant face of Prince Gregory.

"Oh, I can _smell_ how close the two of you have become," He darkly growled, his seething gaze flooded with stubbornness, but the ever building rage within Judy prevented any embarrassment from taking hold within her fuming form. "But murder was not an instrument of our motives. We came to teach this _insolent_ beast a lesson in honor. Death would be too fair a fate for him."

"Of course it would be," She spitefully snorted in criticizing reply, pulling his collar closer to the point of her sword, only drawing his gaze down to it again. "You will never change, Gregory, I fear. Nicholas is as intuitive as Leonardo di Jacki **[1]** , as caring as the Holy Marey, and gentle as a mountain creek, yet you only see what he is to the world. A _fox_."

"Who attacked you without warning," Prince Gregory spat back, his gaze darting to the bruise on her right cheek. "Those claw marks are fresh. That you cannot deny. Please, if he is so _innocent_ and _pure_ , would you care to explain why he put you through such a monstrous crime?"

Judy did not dare to answer, her furious expression turning a shade darker as her ears fell stiffly behind her head and as her mouth snapped shut. She could virtually hear her teeth grinding against one another and the blood roaring throughout her body.

"You cannot, Judith?" He sneered, a vile, toothy grin coming onto his muzzle that only echoed his pleasure brought on by her silence. "That is because there is no justification for such horrendous acts. It is only typical for a member of his species to do such!"

"Get out of here, before I skin you like a cow," She whispered, her voice and tone dangerously quiet. Prince Gregory snapped his mouth shut at her command, his translucent amber eyes still swimming in defiance. With a final scowl she forced him towards the grass, her paw on his collar briefly tightening before she released her grip.

"Are the lot of you deaf?" She authoritatively scorned, turning her gaze to the other motionless rabbits in the clearing as Prince Gregory backed away from her on all fours, his eyes scorching the side of her face. As if a scene straight from the pages of a holy book the lords and sers scattered around the clearing began to back away one by one, their stern, violent expressions fading into the long shadows of the hedged paths leading out from the dimming clearing. Prince Lucas painstakingly limped from where he had fallen on the far side of the grass to the arched entryway of the nearer path, his paw gripping his ankle tightly and his pearly teeth visibly clenched. He turned over his shoulder with words in his glossy eyes, of which she met with a hard glare, and he made a pained sound as he hobbled into the darkness.

"Our business with the Prince has yet to be concluded," Prince Gregory deeply addressed, following his brother into the black with a final, snide glance past Judy and onto Nicholas, still sitting motionlessly on the bench before the statue. Judy merely flicked an ear at him, ringing the grip of her sword with her paw as if it were a neck of one of the vagrants who had assaulted her.

 _To think we are blood..._ She disdainfully commented, tracing the vanishing sounds of gravel crunching underfoot through the walls of green with her rigid ears. It was only when the world was silent save for the occasional buzz or hum of an insect that she dared to look back at her betrothed.

"Are you fair, Nicholas?" She lightly checked, a tiny, reassuring smile emerging onto her face as she hurriedly stepped over to the sitting fox, but he did not make a sound.

"They are gone now," She gently told him, crouching down beside the bench and staring up at his face, but his expression partially obscured by shadows made the grin fly from her muzzle. He was absolutely stiff, his panicked green eyes staring directly forwards blankly, his ears having collapsed behind his head in utter terror.

"Nick?" She worriedly chimed, urgency flooding her. She leaned towards him, tossing her sword onto the grass before she took his crossed paws idly resting in his lap into her own. They were vibrating, but the tighter she squeezed them the stronger their shakes became. The violent tremors gradually spread up his arms like black venom, then into his neck, and finally into his armor, loud creaks coming from his breastplate as it clashed with his shoulder pads.

"Nicholas!" She frantically yelled, shooting upwards and catching him by the chest as his strength gave out. She grunted under the immense weight of his body and attire, unable to hold him up for very long, and she resorted to letting him gently fall onto the grass beside her with careful guidance from her paws.

 _What in all of the great green world is happening?_ A terrified voice inside her questioned, but she did not grant it admittance to pass through her mouth, instantly deciding now was not the time for panic. She dug her fingers into Nicholas's bunched neck fur while she pressed her ear against the steel of his chest, listening attentively.

"Breathing fast," She quietly noted, pulling her head away from his trunk and keeping her eyes locked with his wide pupils staring into the grass as her fingers pressed deeper into his fur. "And heartbeat even more so."

The disturbingly familiar sound of gravel moving underfoot drew all her attention towards the far hedged pathway across the clearing. Her ears fell as she listened to the forbidding crunches grow louder and louder to the point where winded pants accompanied them.

Without a moment of hesitation she darted the few feet to where she had tossed her sword, gripping it with all her might without leaving Nicholas's side, a steady paw firmly locked on his shoulder. Her grip on her hilt tightened even more, along with her jaw, as the sounds escalated further and as a small group of figures emerged from the dimness of the hedges.

She wished she could say their presences eased her.

"Princess Hopps, what have you done?" Marshal Certus spurted out, horrified, as his gaze darted between the sword in her paw and the quaking body of her betrothed to her side. Flanking him were Marshal Fenus and a young Arctic fox in a captain's uniform, both equally startled by the sight of Nicholas.

"Only protecting the Prince from my unruly brothers," She hastily explained, a commanding frown embedded on her brow, but even as Marshal Fenus darted across the clearing to examine Nicholas from a close kneel she did not lower her sword.

"Your brothers did this?" The short fox exclaimed, visibly appalled as he waved his paw in front of Nicholas's dazed eyes. Judy sent him a curt nod, tensing her muscles as she picked up the sounds of Marshal Certus hurrying to stand beside the Fennec.

"This is horrendous!" He growled, joining his counterpart on the grass and maintaining his paw in front of Nicholas's mouth as his gaze swept over his trembling form. "If only we had heard the sounds sooner! Is he bleeding?"

"Not a paw was lain on him," Judy hurriedly answered as her frown deepened, refusing to cease her incessantly growing hostility directed at the Bengal fox, but the frantic worry building like a wall within her forced the sword from her paw. "However his breathing and heartbeats are quick. Dangerously so."

"Go!" Marshal Fenus angrily yelled in the tongue of foxes, looking up from Nicholas's stunned face with a deathly serious snarl and a claw pointing at the bewildered Captain standing guard at the other end of the clearing. "Fetch the physician! Now!"

The Arctic Fox managed a forced nod, taking a moment longer to stare at his sovereign before he rushed back into the dark pathway. The last light of day was quickly fading behind the towering hills in the distance, and as a wave of darkness passed over her Judy took Nicholas's paw into her own, cool resolve once again flowing within her veins.

"Know you what ails him, my Marshal?" She solemnly asked, intently watching Marshal Fenus perform basic tests on her betrothed. The large-eared fox did not reply immediately, instead leaning forwards and pressing the side of his head against Nicholas's clinking breastplate.

"He is stunned," He mumbled, readjusting his ear against the thin steel plate. "Or in a state much like it. Aid me in rolling him over."

Judy did not hesitate for a second, grabbing Nicholas's arms and pulling him towards her as Marshal Fenus and Certus pushed him from the opposite side. Thankfully her betrothed provided very little resistance, and as he rolled onto his back with his terrified gaze tilted towards the dark sky she took a short moment to catch her breath, keeping her damp left paw locked with his and an ear tilted towards his muzzle.

"I have no doubt in Prince Wilde's strength; he has recovered from worse before," Marshal Fenus went on to say after a moment, letting a weary breath escape him as he rose to stand with his paws behind his back and ears behind his heavy head. "Although it is disturbing to see him in such an... _altered_ state."

"He has not been himself in recent hours," Marshal Certus stoically agreed with a prolonged nod, his expression turning a shade lighter as his relieved gaze darted up to connect with Judy's.

 _No thanks to you!_ A voice within her silently hissed, and she found herself unable to stop her ears from aggressively falling behind her head nor halt her grinding jaw. Thankfully Marshal Certus did not seem to notice the vexation brought on by his remark, turning back to Nicholas with a calm grin, however Marshal Fenus raised an intrigued yet stern eyebrow at her.

"Maybe all he requires for his true self is a goblet of wine," Marshal Certus went on, his voice tense but jovial, and the weighted bubble of fury burst inside her at the two dimensional statement, showering her in liquid anger.

"That will not be necessary," She hastily retorted, the red in her eyes pouring into her voice far too blatantly, and she coaxed herself to grip her betrothed's shaking paw tight and stare into his petrified eyes to avoid the curious and almost hurt gaze of Marshal Certus. She caught sight of the Bengal fox glancing up at Marshal Fenus, who only shrugged back at him, from the corner of her gaze, yet no embarrassment or regret of her outburst collected on her cheeks.

 _All this is that_ damned _fox's fault!_ She feverishly exclaimed, refusing to let the egregious stiffness fall from her cheeks as she studied every shivering hair on Nicholas's face. _My brothers are idiots, tried and true, but Certus is a villain in his own league! He is poisoning Nicholas; I am sure of it! But none will believe such a dire claim if all they are presented with is a weightless mallet. If Nicholas is to be himself again - for eternity - then I must obtain evidence of the Marshal's treasonous actions. But where to begin, as leadless as a savage horse..._

Judy did not have the time to answer that question, because almost as soon as it had passed through her skull a well-dressed rabbit was beside her, pressing down on her fiance's stomach. It took her but a second to realize it was the court physician, performing rudimentary tests on her lover as spear-armed fox guards surrounded them with their spears and square shields raised in a defensive stance, as if enemies would descend upon them at any given moment.

The doctor looked frantic at first, inciting fresh clouds of nervousness to roll over her, but as he mumbled both to himself and Marshals Certus and Fenus, who had hurried to his sides, the agitation embedded in his expression died, and she soon found herself with raised ears and a bobbing foot, eager to hear what he had to say.

"He is experiencing shock," The young black rabbit eventually announced, keeping a paw on Nicholas's chest as he rushed to his opposite side, his blue eyes locking with hers for but an instant before they returned to him. She stiffly nodded at his answer, unsurprised at the confirmation of Marshal Fenus's original diagnosis.

"Will he be alright?" She fretfully pushed, tensing her body as Marshal Fenus pointed and shouted at two overly-protective guards in the tongue of foxes.

"As long as we keep him comfortable, yes," The physician hurriedly replied, holding the back of his paw against the orange fur of her betrothed's forehead as the two guards rushed to either end of his body, dropping their weapons to the grass as they lifted him off the ground.

She raised with them instantly, holding Nicholas's trembling paw in her left while she stroked the back of it with her right.

"Stay still, my idiotic fox," She calmly soothed with a rattled smile that only grew as Nicholas's dazed gaze weakly darted to hers. "Soon all shall be fair once again."

The world seemed to move with her as the two guards carried Nicholas across the clearing, Marshal Fenus and the Arctic fox captain beside him shouting orders in the tongue of foxes at the defensive guards taking point about them while the court physician kept close to her fiance with a paw against his core. Despite all the turbulent movement going on all around her, there was one motionless figure barely visible in its depths, and at the sight of Marshal Certus's still form the world froze dead in its tracks.

Rooted upon his face was disgust; raw and unconcealed. Some form of hate radiated from his gaze and onto the face of her betrothed, as powerful as a sun's ray, but in the skulk of mammals none save her saw it. He remained still and conniving, his face periodically going in and out of her view as guards past in front of him, and as one of them did so his entire demeanor flipped to warm and worried.

His facade did not convince her, though. Fury once again pulsed inside her, so vermilion and consuming she was scared her dress would burst into flames. Only with immense difficulty could she restrain it, yet even so she soon found herself in a dilemma - to accompany and comfort her fiance or to ensure nothing of this magnitude would ever occur again.

With a squeeze of Nicholas's paw and a final, longing and regretful glance at his glossed emeralds she let his limp paw fall, not sparing a second as she darted around the guards escorting him with every cog in her mind whirling.

The trick to securing evidence of Certus's mutinous misdeeds would lie beyond the palace walls; as far as she was concerned, who was to say he had not been aided in his back dealings by some guard or disloyal captain? As for the wine her betrothed seemed to long for, what if the bottle had been poisoned at some date prior? Only when Certus was caught red-pawed attempting to lace Nicholas's drinks would she have substantial evidence to reveal his treachery.

 _That is it!_ She victoriously exclaimed, her eyes widening and a plan beginning to formulate inside her as she squeezed between two of the chainmail wearing foxes surrounding her fiance, their shields high and spears low. _And then- Perfect!_ _Judith, you are truly a master architect of intrigue!_

"My Marshal Certus," She hastily called out to the iron-clad fox, who had not moved from his stance beside the bench, with forced courtesy, suppressing a scowl as his curious gaze turned towards her.

"Yes, my Princess Hopps?" He respectfully replied, his tone intrigued and his ears raising along with his tail. She only dared to speak once she had come to a stop a few feet in front of his moonlit, reflective form and thoroughly plotted what her request would be, the metallic clanks of the foxes escorting her betrothed echoing into her stiff ears as they filed through the thin archway of the hedged path leading back towards the palace.

"Prince Wilde spoke highly of the spring water you provided him during his recovery from the Zweikampf," She convincingly lied, the Bengal fox perking his ears further and widening his gaze at the revelation. "And in dire times such as these, when his well-being is threatened, I intend to do everything in my power that may contribute to his betterment. So, I entreat you, would it be possible for him to once again taste the freshness of the Earth?"

"Of course, my Princess!" The Marshal eagerly confirmed, profusely nodding his head and visibly excited at the proposition of having the opportunity to poison the Prince. Judy had to forcibly stop herself from squinting suspiciously, her mood transitioning into a color darker and far more inquisitive.

"I can send my courtier right away, if you wish," He enthusiastically continued, his long tail swishing back and forth, and Judy nodded in thanks as a stiff smile rose onto her muzzle.

"That would be beyond perfect," She gleefully thanked, dipping her head as her paws tightened around one another, and Marshal Certus sent her an equally pleased grin as she rose from her bow and glanced over her shoulder, her eyes and ears focused on the fading sounds of Marshal Fenus's voice amidst the dark greenery.

"And would you be so kind as to tell Marshal Fenus and the physician I have gone to bring word of what has happened to my father?" She swiftly added, intending to slip away once she had delivered the fateful message, taking a hurried step away from the Marshal as her paws fell to her sides and forcefully clenched behind her back. "He deserves to know what offenses his sons have perpetrated."

"That I can do," The Marshal avidly reassured, sending her a curt nod and a warm grin. Judy could feel her blood boiling ever more intensely at his open demeanor that seemed so numb to the hardships he had put their species through, but she sent him a final, departing grimace regardless.

 _Three fish with one hook._ She apprehensively thought, spinning on her heels and calmly striding away from the bench, genuinely exhilarated with what would soon come to pass, her impassioned gaze raising to the moonlit grey of the palace walls. _One poisoned in spirit, and two poisoned in mind._

* * *

The discussion with King Hopps was not a time consuming event. When Judy arrived at his suite's entrance she found him residing inside, his regal red doublet upon his form and an old book in his paws. He seemed pleasantly surprised by her sudden presence, but as she let her recount of the evening pour from her mind and into the air his ears fell and gaze hardened.

As if that was not serious enough, shortly after she began to tell him of what had transpired between her and her brothers Marshal Alsius stormed in on their discussion with a small contingent of guards flanking him. The Arctic fox added little to the conversation, loudly recounting what information he had been passed by Marshal Fenus. His verbose, nigh-outraged voice drew the attention of yet more mammals, and a dense crowd of Lords and their attendants began to gather in the tight entryway of the suite.

It was about this time when her father lost all sense of self control. He stormed form his seat, his eyes as fiery as the blood in his ears, hounding over how heavy the fines he would place upon those who had attacked the Prince would be. When it came to Prince Gregory and Prince Lucas he ranted of how they deserved nothing better than banishment, much to the dismay of his onlooking vassals.

Several of the Lords rushed towards him, speaking to him in hushed mannerisms only to be greeted by his booming voice. Judy slipped through the crowd as his tirade continued, hurrying away from the suite as silent as a silhouette and without drawing any gaze with her.

Mere minutes later she was bathing in the cool moonlight again. From the Palace's highest level, reserved for gatherings of a massive scale, the whole world seemed to be revealed to her. In every direction a hundred thousand stars shone down onto the white-washed landscape, from the river in the East to the rolling fields southward.

She stood straight and alert, her right foot resting on the short stone railing that ran around the perimeter of the roofless balcony while her focused gaze and attentive ears scanned every tiny figure patrolling the palace grounds with intense interest. She did not have the night vision of a fox, nor their immaculate sense of smell, but she did not particularly desire or need those skills on this bright night.

Seemingly on all pathways of the palace grounds were small dots of orange; the light of torches carried by guards, undoubtedly ensuring the safety of the palace's residents while simultaneously searching for its perpetrators after the ambush on her betrothed. The isolated lights gradually rose and fell as the patrols moved about, and Judy found herself waiting until the moon was directly overhead before they thinned enough for her to confidently move in the shadows.

Apprehension had been growing within her for what had felt like years. Whether or not Marshal Certus's courtier had already returned with the spring water she had requested was unknown to her. If he had, then she had not only failed, but further jeopardized the Prince's health. With the number of guards out, though, she doubted she would have missed the commotion brought on by a single, lowly fox running about in the night.

Aside from that, there was only one place where a mammal could leave to obtain fresh water, and she had made careful sure to keep an eye and an ear monitoring it at all times.

 _The East Gate._ She noted, turning her eyes towards the tall, stone arch across the grounds and surrounded by the orange glow of torches as she planted both her feet onto the stone railing. While the West Gate led into the Central Burrow's city center, the East Gate connected with a path that ran alongside sparse farmland and the hills that bordered the palace. Several creeks drained into the Rhine from there; if the courtier was to get fresh water, then that is where it would be.

Although from here, atop the palace, she did not stand much chance of catching up to the fox once he passed through the gates. With a fateful glance downwards she took a confident step forwards, feeling the air whirling around her. Not a second later her feet touched the smooth surface of marble, and she raced to the edge of the dim balcony she found herself on as soon as she had regained her balance.

She did not spare even an instant for rest, leaping with all her might from one balcony to the next, passing darkened suite after darkened suite, some echoing the sounds of sleeping mammals and others vacant. Her speed built up to a sprint, her breathing completely under her control as she prepared to leap from the final balcony and onto the sloped roof of the throne room.

It was over a hundred foot drop to the gravel pathway running in the gap between the buildings, while the leap itself was greater than thirty, and for a moment she feared her speed had not been great enough and she would plummet to her death. Yet her fears were unfounded; the ceramic red tiled roof grew closer and closer until it was directly below, and she rolled onto it with a disorienting thud when it finally came into reach.

She grunted away the bruising pain arising in her shoulder blades as a result of the less-than-flawless landing, her sharp eyes scanning the roof while her ears secured the perimeter behind her, making careful sure she had not been spotted or heard. With a quick, confirming glance behind she was hidden against the shadows again, hurrying along the dark side of the roof as the gatehouse drew nearer. There were still a great many soldiers abound, both rabbits and foxes, their torches slicing through the darkness life knife through a fruit. They stalked along the defensive walls in tight groups, their hard faces a fiery orange and their armors a ghostly white.

The grooves in the throne room's roof offered plenty of places for Judy to duck as the patrols passed along the wall at the far end of the structure, limiting her progress to mere feet at a time, but in a moment of opportunity she rushed along the red tiles and leaped from them, gliding in the air for but an instant before she landed effortlessly on the stone bricks of the wall. She sprinted down the gigantic structure as swiftly and silently as her feet would allow, spotting the next patrol's bright torchlight in the otherwise black doorway of the gatehouse's towers.

Her heart was racing far beyond safe speeds, but in the same instant the patrol would exit the turret and spot the reflection from her steel cuirass she threw herself up the tower's wall, scrambling into a thin window on the upper level as they emerged into the moonlight. They were wide-eyed with caution, but none had noticed her escapade, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief and slid into the interior of the tower as they made their route along the wall.

Judy crept across the wooden floor as silent as a breeze, hearing the mumbles of guards on the level below her. The tower's high parapets provided ample cover for her to observe the gatehouse and any mammal that dared to approach it without being seen, her shadowy figure further concealed by the blackness of the room and her midnight blue dress while the smell of flowers she had doused herself in drowned out her own scent.

It did not take very long for her ears to raise and eyes to squint at two foxes coming towards the gates from the interior of the palace at a relaxed pace. Marshal Certus, in his glinting steel and gold-trimmed breastplate, was clearly recognizable in the moonlight, while his courtier was a being Judy had not seen before; a thin Sechuran fox in brown and grey cheap clothing who appeared no older than she. She couldn't stop herself from leaning forward, her ears barely peeking from the shadows.

As the two figures drew closer one of the half dozen halberd-wielding guards called out to them in the tongue of foxes, gripping the shaft of his weapon tighter as the two figures stepped into the torchlight illuminating the structure. Marshal Certus chanted something back to him that incited Judy to frown in confusion. While she did know a small amount of the tongue that foxes spoke, she was no master linguist, and the Marshal's words were just as foreign as that of tigers.

Marshal Certus motioned to his courtier, who she now noticed was carrying a ceramic jug in his arms, and told the guard something along the lines of "He's going to fetch water." The mailed fox nodded in understanding and stepped out of the way, uttering a warning to the courtier as he hurried past him. Marshal Certus politely grinned after him, his paws falling behind his back, and Judy suppressed a scoff and silently rushed across the wooden floor to stare out from the safety of the parapet opposite the one she departed from.

The courtier was jogging down the southward path, holding the empty jug close to his chest, his brown doublet fading into the dark of the dirt seamlessly so his long grey tail was the only indicator of his presence. He had run no more than a few dozen paces when he turned left, hurriedly following the course of a small creek up into the darkened lines of trees.

Judy slipped away from the parapet the moment he disappeared, stepping over to the thin window looking onto the wall and the hills beyond its border. She crawled onto its ledge, poking her head out into the night and ensuring she would slip away unnoticed. The next patrol was still a fair distance away while the guards around the gate were deep in conversation with the Marshal, so with an urging breath she shifted on her rear to the edge of the windowsill and let the Earth drag her downwards.

She landed in the slim shadow of the wall's high parapet, and she remained in it as she dove through the shadows, only the hem of her blue gown poking out from the darkness. Gradually, as the hills approached, the wall's slope rose, and after a few more moments a gentle downhill breeze accompanied it, bringing the fresh scents of the forest as well as the slightly unnerving smells of an approaching patrol.

Her ears were flat against her back as she peaked over the parapet, eyes wide at the thirty foot drop to the cleared ground directly before the wall. A final glance up the structure urged her over, though. The sight of the patrol's torches were far closer than they had been mere moments before.

The untrimmed grass beyond the palace's boundaries came closer and closer until it seemed as if it were right before her eyes, although her feet collided with it before her face came anywhere close. Her landing was heavier than she would have desired in order to remain silent, but the ground was soft, absorbing the brunt of her fall along with most of the noise.

Without checking to see if she had been caught Judy darted into the woods, concealing herself behind a bush once the trees had grown denser and peering out at the torchlit skulk above. The steel-covered foxes and rabbit moved past where she had been crouching mere seconds earlier at a slow pace, their incessantly sniffing noses high, searching for intruders, but none glanced at the flattened grass where she had landed nor the bush she found herself behind. She breathed a minute sigh of relief as the orange glow once again dimmed, briefly allowing herself a moment of rest before she turned back to the nigh-black trees and began her trek through them.

The moon's rays provided some assistance in piloting between the trunks and roots of both standing and overturned vegetation, but for the most part Judy stuck to the shadows as her ears homed in on the soft sound of rushing water. She bolted from trunk to trunk, trekking uphill with her eyes focused downwards, assuring she would not be so foolish as to snap a twig and reveal her position.

As the hill crested the trees parted ever so slightly, revealing the glinting reflection of the stream. Beside the wide, shallow gorge its incessant flow had sliced ran a thin path surrounded by tall grasses, perfect for an unnoticed approach. Judy accepted its camouflage gleefully, sneaking along the path in a crouch, following the scent of the Sechuran fox that the breeze was blowing down towards her.

When the last of the hill's now minuscule slope petered out the path came to an abrupt halt, widening into a small clearing with a craggy outcropping of stone in its center. At its base was a tranquil pond, the source of the stream, with an unwelcome visitor wading on its banks.

The creaks of the swaying pines all around her drowned the sounds Judy made as she emerged from the grasses and drew her rapier, pulling it backwards - ready to strike -as she slowly stalked towards the courtier, who had submerged the jug into the clear water along with both his gloved paws. A hurried expression was set in stone upon his juvenile face, and as he lifted the dripping jug out of the pond with a loud splash he shifted towards the grass, his bark brown gaze cast downwards.

Judy stopped dead in her tracks as he set down the ceramic vessel. Had he glanced the slightest part upwards, his gaze would have been greeted with her completely exposed form, her steel accessories glinting in the whitewashed night. Thankfully he kept his eyes trained earthwards, his left paw slipping into his pocket as his right held the jug steady on the uneven grass.

Taking an opportunity to dash out of view, Judy dodged behind a growth of reeds along the banks of the spring, burying her blade into its stalks and her bright chestplate into the damp ground. The courtier must have heard her sharp movements, his ears having perked since last she noticed and his alerted gaze scouring the clearing. Even from a fair twenty paces away she could hear his nose sniffing the air, although the breeze that had accompanied her throughout her journey once again bestowed blessings upon her by blowing his scent downhill, keeping hers distant.

He made a sound that half resembled a grumble as his attention shifted back to the jug, withdrawing a lazuli blue flower and an accompanying red one from his pants's leftpocket. Their scents were sweet and savory, heavy and light, two conflicting flavors that forced Judy out of the safety of her hiding spot with her twitching nose high.

She was not filled with ease at the sight nor smell of the stunningly vibrant plants, a suspicious frown becoming entrenched upon her brow as she stepped around the reeds lining the banks, but as she silently approached the courtier from behind her interest in his activities only grew, spurned onward by her validated suspicions.

He appeared to be picking the petals from the red flower, letting them fall onto a flat stone where the blue sat, waiting for its time to be plucked. A terrible feeling arose as the last of the red petals fell and the courtier tossed the lifeless bud into the water before taking the blue flower in his paws. But she did not allow him to hold it for more than an instant before her long, pointed blade was resting on his shoulder.

"Rise - slowly - and release the flower," She commanded, putting her language skills to use. The fox obeyed almost instantly, dropping the blue plant and allowing the air to cushion its gradual descent as he stiffly and shakily rose from his kneel, his wide, frightened eyes glued onto the point of her rapier.

"Now turn," She sternly continued, moving her blade with the fox while he complied with his arms raised. The glint of her steel pressing against his throat complimented his boulder-wide saucers, staring into her own eyes pleadingly, begging her not to strike.

"I shall not bring any harm onto you as long as you answer my queries," She assured him, her tone relaxing just enough to ease his distress, and he partially lowered his arms as her blade descended towards the grass. "Do you understand?"

" **Yes** ," He swiftly replied, profusely nodding as his bristling tail began to relax. Judy sent him a curt nod, taking a moment to study the red petals and blue flower on the rock behind him as she prepared her questioning.

"What are the names of those flowers?" She started, flicking her sword towards the stone they rested on without relieving her frown. The Sechuran fox followed her gaze to the stone, staring down at them for a short instant before he gathered them in his gloved paws.

"I do not know," He answered, studying the petals' vibrant colors with barely half the interest she was. "I am only given to them by Marshal Certus."

Judy sheathed her sword as she took a cautious pace forwards, curiosity having seized her and no longer wishing to hold the fox at blade, and she reached out towards the assortment of colors - more specifically, the dark blue - with both her paws only to have them frantically slapped away.

"Do not handle them!" The courtier apprehensively hissed, hiding the flowers in his paws and partially reeling backwards as her eyes darted back to his heedful gaze. "The slightest touch will leave you mad!"

"You know this, yet you would willingly poison waters destined for your Prince?" She steely asked, twitching her ear in annoyance and allowing her venturing paws to return to her sides, one of them coming to rest on the hilt of her sword.

The Sechuran fox did not reply immediately, instead opening up his paws again and staring at the red and blue venoms in them with his ears limp and tail stiff. When he did open his mouth he spoke with words Judy had yet to comprehend in the tongue of foxes, far beyond her elementary ability, leaving her frowning in confusion.

"I'm- I'm sorry," She interrupted, her tone regretful, and the courtier stopped his soliloquy dead in its tracks as his wide brown eyes darted up to hers. "I admit I do not know the tongue well. Can you speak in simple terms?"

"I do not wish to envenom Prince Wilde, but by the Marshal's paw I am forced to," He sorrowfully revealed, and Judy felt the cage of frustration around her chest come undone at the genuine sincerity of his voice. He was no older than she, new in the world and compelled to do harm - not out of spite, but at the will of another's paws, greater in power than his own. She took a pace forward again, this time in a sympathetic manner, wrapping her paws around the fox's gloves and guiding them to cover the flowers.

"Then you must tell me everything you know of his plotting," She gently explained, kind spirits having amassed in her purple gaze, but the Sechuran fox turned his uneasy expression downwards as he slowly shook his head to and fro.

"I have said nothing, yet that is already far too much," He conceded, regret leaking from behind his facial fur. "If I am discovered, unknown troubl-"

"I can guarantee your safety if you aid me in revealing your master's crimes!" Judy suddenly announced, her heart beating out of her ribs at the thought of losing her only witness while her ears shot up from behind her head. Thankfully the courtier emerged from his pit of despair at her assurance, his eyes widening as his tail shot straight up.

"Then we cannot talk here," He replied, frantically whirling his gaze around the clearing as he shook her paws off his gloves. "Not enough time. I must return before the Marshal suspects foul play."

"Meet with me at daybreak," She ordered, glancing towards the overhead moon just beginning its descent and showering the world with a ghostly white glow as a plan formulated in her mind. "In my quarters. I will have a translator at the ready."

 _More like friend..._ She corrected, turning her eyes back to the courtier to catch him swiftly nodding while he returned to the jug resting on the pond's banks. She strode to stand beside him, her entire body stiffening and her breaths halting as she witnessed him grind a single red petal into a pulp against a stone in his paw before releasing it into the jug.

"It is harmless alone," He swiftly reassured, eyes wider than before as they darted to her frown, but she let her tense expression fall along with a thankful sigh, glad that her brief worries had been unfounded.

"I add it only for scent, to trick my master," He added, drawing back his arm as he prepared to toss the remaining flower and petals into the pond. Judy felt a pang of anxiety rise up within her as she watched him, and she placed a wary paw on his shoulder the instant before he threw them.

"Wait," She trepidatiously commanded, biting her lip and grinding her jaw as the courtier turned his curious brown gaze over his shoulder.

"I would like to have those, so I may find their names," She anxiously went on, and the courtier nodded in understanding as he lowered his arm. He spent a moment looking along the shore, bending over once he had caught sight of a leaf large enough to stow the remains away in.

"I beg you, do not touch them," He worriedly repeated, handing the neat, wrapped package to her with a frown on his grey face. She sent him a curt nod, taking the leaf from him and studying it in her paws. It had cracks along its sides brought on by its imperfect shape, allowing the blue flower the minimal amount of light it required to stand out against the darkness. She had not the vaguest idea of what secrets it held within its

Judy barely heard the courtier take the jug into his grasp, turning her eyes up from the flower only when he faked a cough. His expression was no less rushed than before, maybe even more so as he sent her a farewelling nod, but she returned a thankful smile before he rushed down the thin path he had arrived from.

She watched his grey form grow more and more distant until it disappeared into the green walls of vegetation, leaving her alone with the wind. She listened to its constant echo with her eyes shut, taking peace from its soothing ruffle against the back of her head for a few peaceful moments before she dashed across the clearing and plunged into the undergrowth, plotting a path to the ravine where the scratches on her cheek had been delivered.

A determined frown was rooted onto her face, unwavering in its pursuit of the smug mammal whose tan tail she could almost picture in front of her, out of her reach. She had no words for him - she would not waste her breath recounting her spiteful feelings towards him.

Her suspicions had been correct, no matter how much her betrothed would protest once she revealed her findings to him the moment she returned to the palace. All of this was for him - for _them_ \- and for _them_ she would delve into all the misdeeds of the Marshal until her appetite for justice was sated. She now had a full-fledged investigation, alight with a witness and evidence; though she would need others to aid her research. That is where Marshal Fenus and Ambassador Dhani would appear.

As if it had called out to her, Judy felt her eyes lowering to the leaf wrap in her paws. She paused for a moment between the trunks of two fallen pines, unwrapping the greenery and allowing her eyes the sight of the blue flower, undamaged in the midst of the crumpled red petals.

An ill feeling crept into her chest the longer she took in its wide curves and dazzling color. This beautiful flora had an evil side that had twisted the mind of her lover to the point of breaking. What other troubles lurked in the shadows its iron petals cast?

* * *

 **Something's wrong in the neigh-boar-hood...**

 **[1] Self Explanatory. A Jackal.**


	15. Chapter Thirteen

**Gosh, it's been about a year since the first chapter of this story was published... Crazy, huh?**

 **Writing will be difficult this next month or so - moving halfway across the world is always a hassle! Some of that time I'll be using to edit my first story, _Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction_ in anticipation for its upcoming sequel _Intrigue._ As for this story, I'll attempt to have the next chapter out by about the fifth of September - until then!**

 **I sincerely hope you enjoy this addition to the Fanfic. With the major edits behind us, all that's ahead has been thoroughly planned, and boy are some shockers in store!**

 **Without the community I wouldn't have been able to get 2 favorites, let alone 200! Thank you all so very much for your support, and if you like (or if you DON'T like) the story, please leave a comment - I'll use all the criticism I can get if it means that you all'll like the story even more!**

* * *

No matter how wide Nick forced his eyes his entire vision was restricted to the sole-crushing color of black. All his ears heard was the shrill rasp of a blade being drawn from its sheath. His sense of touch limited only to the fur along back of his neck, still ruffled from where the sword had barely missed grazing him. Why had he not been struck down?

This was not a question of who had disrupted the blade's descent, but why another weapon was not lodged inside him as he lay limp, vulnerable to anyone who dared to enter his suite. As the strained moments became seconds, then minutes, then hours, the more and more he realized the blade was a necessity to him as much as water or air. The piercing of steel was the only infallible way to repent all the terror he had caused.

Though he remained on a foreign level of consciousness he could still discern other mammals moving around him. A whiff of cinnamon divulged the presence of Ambassador Dhani, while the soft touch of a palm against his cheek revealed Judith to be in attendance along with the strong voice of Marshal Fenus. At some point the voices of all three beings rose to tremendous levels, locked in a bitter argument, their heated exchange echoing throughout the blank emptiness of his mind.

The world returned to him in a sole serene instant, as if he were waking from an uneasy sleep. He was laying atop the folded sheets of his bed, his steel armor stripped from his body and returned to the manikin across the room, leaving him in naught save a simple pair of black linen pants. In the doorway leading outside stood Marshal Fenus, his weary eyes and ears studying some unseen sight and his iron plate armor a dirtied silver in the mid-morning light. Yet the short fox did not hold Nick's attention for more than a long moment, once he caught the glint of steel on the nightstand beside him.

The metallic hilt of his short, sturdy sword was tantalizingly close to his paw. He desired with all his battered soul to grasp it again, study every forged edge culminating in its raw point, to ensure the weapon of remorse was prepared for any punishment presented to it. But as he slowly extended his shaky paw out towards the repenting device his meager strength gave way, and his arm plummeted back to the sheets with a noisy bounce.

"Prince Wilde," Marshal Fenus exclaimed, his tone partially surprised, and Nick tilted his ears towards the stoic fox as he hurried across the creaky wooden planks of the floor, his eyes glued to the sword's shining hilt.

"Do not waste your strength," The Marshal gruffly ordered, his thick form coming into view as he reached behind the sword and took a ceramic jug into his paws, pouring a small goblet of what smelled to be water. The soothing trickle of the liquid filling the cup revealed to Nick how parched his tongue truly was, and as the Marshal offered him the chance at relief he grasped the cool chalice in both his unsteady paws and leaned forward, scooting his rear to the bed's backboard as the soothing liquid poured down the back of his throat.

His gaze caught the Marshal's during his long drink, the light brown eyes looking over his face with interest concealed by wariness, as if he were viewing a dancer swallowing fire.

"Do you need more of the springwater, my Prince?" The apprehensive fox asked once the last of the water drained from his cup, and Nick faintly shook his head in reply, dodderingly returning the metal vessel to the wooden countertop. He rested his paw on the smooth surface, watching the hilt of the sword as if it were to jump into his own paws, but he did not dare to touch it when he knew holding it in his own grip was impossible.

Time passed extraordinarily slowly as the Marshal rested beside him, and Nick took solace in the fact that his strength was gradually returning to his joints, bringing him ever closer to the cutting edge he deserved.

"Did the water taste different, my Prince?" The Marshal stressfully joked, running a paw over his face, visibly irked by something, and glancing over at him from the foot of the bed with a worry caught in his throat and his ears barely perked in courtesy. "The Princess thinks someone is altering what you drink."

"Do you believe her?" Nick frailly asked, his words more resembling a rasp than a living voice, and at that pitiful sound his ears fell further behind him, droopily sagging, pulled down by the weight of compunction ever igniting like a sun beneath his burning fur.

"I cannot say I do," The Marshal warily answered, letting a light chuckle escape his lips as a grin emerged onto his muzzle. Nick returned a grimace not even half in size but infinitely more despondent, his eyes returning to the blade as fresh blood filled his paw, granting him the tiniest amount of vigor needed to grasp it.

"Only I am to blame for my actions," He ruefully and hopelessly told, only catching a glimpse of Fenus as he shot up from the edge of the bed, eyes wide in horror as he held the sword in both his paws. He ran a claw down its long edge, his heart both breaking his ribs and failing to beat in the same instant. What was stopping it from falling through his barren, bruised chest ripe for justice only God knew.

"My Prince, cease your advances!" Marshal Fenus authoritatively exclaimed, whatever alarm on his face not present in his voice, and Nick looked up from the blade between his fingers only to have the air stolen from his lungs and the bruises on his body lurch with pain.

In place of the Marshal was Judith; a vision, albeit so lifelike Nick found himself solidifying with guilt at its sight. Upon her broken face was a deathly serious expression, packed with suffering, ruin, torment, and ten thousand other ill feelings one would not wish upon their nemesis, let alone their lover. Her silent, piercing purple gaze was locked with the steel edge of the weapon in his paws.

Without thinking his eyes darted to the middle of her smooth cheek, where an ugly bruise throbbed against three red marks accompanying it. Marks that he had caused. So much hardship, both physical and mental anguish, in a single being, all of which was brought on by his own failures and violence.

With all his paltry might he threw the sword across the room, and it bounced along the stone floor with sharp clanks and clunks until it rolled to a standstill.

Nick forced his paws into his eyes, grinding his jaw as if a grindstone as pain shot from the gash the Emperor had made just above his eyebrow, but he refused to alleviate the pressure. Blood was roaring through his ears and, no matter how hard he pressed, a few scattered and especially fatiguing tears escaped past his claws now digging into his skin.

He deserved the sword far more than Prince Gregory and Prince Lucas did jointly. No mammal understood the thoughts goading him to grasp the weapon, constantly reminding him of what he had done, but delivering punishment onto himself would only plunge his betrothed's health into more fits of uncertainty and further the chaos brought on by the uniting of their species.

"I was not going to damage myself," He feebly choked out, his voice as crackly as a campfire, but a tight paw on his shoulder silenced him.

"You must be strong, my Prince, for the Empire," Marshal Fenus strongly urged, his breaths hot on the side of his face, and Nick peeked through his fingers warily only to be guilted by his betrothed's shattered face once again.

With a frantic half-growl Nick darted away from the Marshal, leaving his tan paw hanging in midair. His tail was limp across the now ruffled sheets, his paws pressing into his eyes as he took deep breath after deep breath, struggling to regain control of his rattled sanity.

"How can I be strong for my species when I cannot be strong for myself?" He hopelessly questioned once enough air filled his soul for him to speak, his paws falling to tighten around the bed's edge. "Wherever I look, I see what sins my own paws have committed. I cannot bear to witness it for much longer."

"You have done ill deeds, my Prince - I shall not lie," Marshal Fenus reminiscently began, his tone genuinely concerned as he stepped across the room to rest beside him, his fingers tightly clutching his shoulder. "Many, including the Emperor and the King, have been rattled by your assault. Guilt should be present in your mind, but not to the extent that you torture yourself relentlessly. You and the Princess have restored the union that shall instill a lasting peace between our species - already foxes and rabbits are befriending one another! Undoubtedly many will look upon you with a criticizing glare, but I assure you that given time all shall fade into memory."

"It will not, my Marshal," Nick woefully refuted, weakly shaking his head as his heavy eyelids opened to the scars upon the Princess's cheek. He did not turn away, staring straight into her glossed amethysts as lifeless as a stagnant pool.

"One day I will not be able to halt my paw," He ventured, voice weak and disheartened as his eyes glossed over once again. "I will not have the strength, soon. It is only a matter of time before… before I take the honorable route out of this world."

Marshal Fenus did not reply, instead tightening his jaw as his hard eyes glanced over his face.

* * *

"It is a welcome surprise to have you working by my side, my Marshal," Judy amicably started, her trained gaze scouring the image of a light blue flower printed into the faded leaves of the book she had opened on the wide desk before her before she thumbed to a new illustration.

"I must repeat I do this not out of a suspicion of the Marshal, my lady, but out of apprehension brought on by the state of the Prince's mind," Marshal Fenus replied, stoically and solemnly. Judy glanced up at his thin, unarmored form, clad in a red doublet and a pair of black trousers, with an unworried and touched grin. His studious walnut eyes abraded a half-dozen novels sprawled out on a table further down the length of the wall, searching for illustrations of the two flowers, one red and one blue, to the left of her paw.

His worry arising from Nicholas' sorry health was incredibly admirable, to say the very least, despite the argument that had arisen earlier in the morning when she had revealed to him and Ambassador Dhani her suspicions of Marshal Certus's wrongdoings. That was but an unpleasant memory now, and even if his motivations differed modestly from hers she still needed all the trustworthy paws she could muster if she was to pry the mysteries these bright petals held within.

With her ears straight and nose twitching at the dusty smell of paper Judy returned to pour over page after page of the almanac of herbs on her desk, stopping at every blue or red sketch and reading of the plant's uses.

The minutes ticked by painstakingly, fruitless page after fruitless page passing by her ever hardening gaze until the encyclopedia's thick leather covers snapped shut.

"Ugh!" She exclaimed in frustration, her eyes darting to the flowers only a paw's reach from her grasp while her head fell backwards along with her ears, draping over her seat's crest. She brooded silently, feeling grumbles of discontent rising in her breast at having invested so much time into a work that had provided nothing on the mysterious florets.

Judy hardly gave any notice to the muffled noise of a mammal closing the library's doors behind them as they entered, frustration having temporarily blurred her senses.

"I have positioned my informants at the gates and buildings where your witness specified earlier, my Princess," A heavily accented voice hurriedly and eagerly revealed, undoubtedly that of Ambassador Dhani, and Judy barely managed to dart her gaze to his sand-colored facial fur and fleet-footed steps. "If the traitorous Marshal so much as dreams of venturing outside the palace walls, word will reach our ears. How goes the search for the mystery flowers?"

"Poor, even in the slightest," She exasperatedly sighed, forcing herself forward to lean over the monumental book with her short claws digging into her forehead. "This copy of the Almanac on the Uses of Herbs contains nothing on these two venoms; not even a whisper of a name!"

"I am having no more luck with these editions," Marshal Fenus discontentedly added, his nose still buried in a red-covered book as an egregious frown rose on his brow. He let loose a suppressed growl as he shot away from the desk, both her and the Ambassador's ears perking at the noise while he paced around the perimeter of the wide room with his hot eyes scouring the spines of the shelved books.

"I doubt any of these hold the knowledge we seek," He pessimistically ventured, his clutched paws tightening behind his waist as his ears cooled, falling behind his head. "Those flowers are of a dark nature; not of medical or culinary, as all our sources discuss! It is hopeless to search any longer."

"Do not leap to such rash conclusions!" Judy harshly reprimanded, shooting out of her seat with her neck fur bristling only to have a thoughtful paw rest on her chin. "Surely there must be a more enlightening path…"

The room fell silent as she and the two foxes pondered different routes around their dilemma. Her eyes turned upwards, staring at the mural-covered ceiling depicting gods battling, while her thoughts whirled in the maelstrom that was her mind. Would the Marshal's courtier be able to disclose fresh information if they questioned him a second time? She seriously doubted so, given how open the Sechuran fox had been during his first interrogation. Then was she to confront Marshal Certus prematurely and demand to know what effects the flowers delivered unto their unsuspecting target? That would never work, for if in the miniscule chance all this evidence was mere coincidence she would leave looking like a fool, her reputation forever tarnished.

"I don't wish to side with the Marshal's discouragement, however I cannot think of a way past our quandary," Ambassador Dhani downcastedly said, slowly shaking his head as he stood over the small, metallic container resting beside her book and sealing the flowers. Judy opened her mouth to protest and urge him on, but she found all she could do gawk meaninglessly, only silent words passing through her throat, defeat gnawing on her chest like a leech.

"Only a fellow miscreant would have sufficient comprehension of the venoms," Marshal Fenus quietly added, collapsing into a padded chair by the library's tall windows. Judy rocketed her ears upward at his lowly statement, eyes as wide as oceans, and she turned her chin over her shoulder so speedily that she swore she heard her spine crack.

"Repeat yourself, Fenus!" She fervently demanded, a gloriously brilliant idea formulating within her, and the stubborn fox turned his frowning gaze towards her.

"Only another malefactor would know of the flowers," He carefully restated, voice abrim with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, but Judy whirled and rushed towards the desk where the flowers sat before he could pry her motives and ruin her gale of thought.

"That's it!" She perfervidly declared, knocking the desk's chair out of her way and pulling open its expansive drawer as Ambassador Dhani took a polite step to her side. Resting out of the sun's view was a thin, blue-bound journal that she zealously took into her paws. She flipped through its packed pages until the pencilled words became fresh, written but a few hours prior, and poured over paragraph after paragraph, all the while her grin gradually rising into a full-fledged beam.

"You've an idea?" Ambassador Dhani asked, his amber eyes swimming in fascination as the hard expression of Marshal Fenus peered at the journal from over her opposite shoulder.

"Recall our questioning of the courtier, Ambassador," She thoughtfully started, sending the Bengal fox a brief glance and pointing out a sentence at the top of the page. "He revealed to us the locations in the Burrow of which Marshal Certus visited over a week ago, where, at my entreaty, you have placed your intelligence. We know that prior to this afternoon-long excursion Nicholas's actions were fairly normal, but afterwards his descent into fury began. In one of these establishments lies the mammal who granted Certus access to these flowers!"

"That we are aware of," Marshal Fenus started, disinterested, his hazel eyes darting to lock with hers. "So you are suggesting..."

"We journey to these locations in disguise and search for this abhorrent apothecary!" She ardently finished, taking fair use of his silence, her foot beginning to jitter in excitement at the prospect of policing camouflaged.

The silence in the air hung as heavy as a drowned rat, the Ambassador and the Marshal not verbalizing their views on her concoction, instead staring into space at both the metal case holding the venomous flowers and the open journal in her paws, the fictional clockworks in their heads so loud Judy could picture their earsplitting sounds as a being of apprehension seized her, unnoticed.

"I do not like this ploy," Marshal Fenus eventually commented, the silence broken, bringing a paw up to rub his chin at the nadir of his doubtful expression.

"It seems we have no other path of sail, if we are to find the hidden landscape behind this portrait," Ambassador Dhani pensively replied, his necklaces rattling against his fur as he shifted on his feet and cross a single arm over his chest, his indecisiveness fading. "I feel as though we have a duty to our liege to carry out any action that may bring about his betterment. Yes. This needs to be done, regardless of its outcome."

"Thank you, Dhani," Judy gratefully thanked, a pleased smile coming onto her muzzle that quickly fell, along with her ears, as Marshal Fenus let loose a ruffled scoff and leaned away from the two of them.

"Surely you two must be joking!" He cried in disbelief, an outraged frown accompanying his critical glare. "You would so willingly put the security of your own lives into the testimony of some false fox?"

"'Judge not a mammal by the fur he wears, but by the heart he carries'," Judy earnestly recited, her ears stiffening and gaze solidyifying along with the Ambassador's as her attitude turned a shade more serious at the mid-aged fox. "I would not have expected you to insult a mammal on his species."

"You would be right, my Princess," Marshal Fenus hastily acknowledged, his whole demeanor shifting from hot to cool in a sole instant, and he sent her a polite and apologetic bow as repentance. "I allowed my displeasure at your proposition to turn into speciest thoughts. I must express my most sincere regret at that, however the idea of venturing into the districts - ridden with crime and the scum of the Earth - that the Marshal has supposedly made his time in without a coherent plan sounds foolish to my ears. If our true identities are discovered, then-"

"We shall make sure none of us are recognizable," Judy reassuringly interrupted, her head spinning towards Ambassador Dhani with a wide smile at his shirtless chest and long skirt. "That will take some effort on your part, but given time we shall all look as though we belong in these taverns and inns."

"Then it is settled?" Ambassador Dhani asked, a grin on his face and amusement in his eyes as he leaned around her with his attention homed in on Marshal Fenus, arms crossed across his chest and his eyes focused on the floor. Judy sent him a hopeful stare, a victorious feeling budding within her as he let loose a disgruntled grumble and slowly shook his head.

"The things you make me participate in, my Princess," He growled, turning and pacing towards the library's entryway without lifting his gaze nor ears. "Let's hurry and disguise ourselves, before I melt like a candle."

* * *

The toll of noon had only just sounded when Judy and the two foxes accompanying her slipped past the palace guards. The three were cloaked in brown, the most ordinary clothes under their coats and their only sources of steel hidden daggers. Had Judy been able to find attire that, as Marshal Fenus had described 'was sewn for the common folk' they would have departed at an earlier hour, but as it turned out she had naught that wasn't made from silk and gold, so, rushed for time, she had been forced to borrow a maid's dress from the one of the palace's kitchen staff.

Thankfully her delay did not have any adverse effects on their departure, the Lords and their attendants preoccupied with preparing the throne room for the feast commemorating their return to their holdings while the guards were busy fretting over where to spend their night off. They slipped into the Burrow's streets without a following glance.

From tavern to tavern they hopped, concealing their figures in the massive crowds seemingly everywhere. The first bars lined the docks, packed to the brim with hourly customers. They passed a greater multitude of colorful figures than even in heaven or the mythical utopia named Zootopia; local burghers, in pompous outfits and earrings all the way up their ears, sailors of all creeds, from crews of mice to the rare wolf, and the occasional fox, undoubtedly well-to-do individuals eager for the prospect of profit or adventure.

Though this did not provide them with any clues whatsoever as to who Marshal Certus had met with, had he met any mammal at all. When she questioned the barkeeps as to whether they had seen an opulent fox conducting suspicious business, they either replied with a shrug and a grunt or a sarcastic comment about how 'every fox was suspicious'.

Their fortunes did not improve when they turned inland, the inns they visited entirely lower-class establishments hardly able to afford the thatched roofs supporting their meagre customers. They drew more ears than answers, on one occasions Judy insisting to the Ambassador they were being followed, but the black-clad rabbit behind them disappeared shortly thereafter.

On the whole the barkeeps and innkeepers had been little more than a waste of time, all sending them packing until only one tavern remained uninvestigated.

They had been forced to cross the bridge across the Rhine to arrive at its doorstep, their cloaks damp with rain from a storm that had moved in from beyond the hills and Marshal Fenus especially disgruntled from their travels. Beyond the tavern's high stone walls lay the camp where the Empire's armies waited to depart at the command of their Marshals, sounds from a bustle of activity echoing through the streets above the pitter-patter of drizzle.

"This is it," Ambassador Dhani commented, unhopeful, his frame heavy and the top of his head drenched as his eyes studied the dripping wooden sign that revealed the tavern's name - Drunken Hedge. "The final current of our voyage."

"Surely may we return to the palace now, my Princess," Marshal Fenus immaturely begged, his shoulders sagging and his ears poking out from underneath his small hood as his gaze looked up at her face concealed by shadows save for her eyes.

"We have only this location to visit, my Marshal, before we make haste to return in time for the feast," She sternly replied, frustrated and worn from the dismal and luckless afternoon, and she climbed the three wet stone steps with unusually lifeless steps, feeling the metallic case hidden in her gown's pocket tap against her thigh, to stand before the tavern's large, pine door. "Let us be quick. Besides, we may take a brief respite from the rain."

As she pushed open the great door Ambassador Dhani hurried behind her, Marshal Fenus following suit with slow strides and a grumble, the three of them moving out of the rain and into the warmth of the indoors.

The bar was well-maintained, as if it were one along the docks reserved for wealthy patrons, however its non-vulpine customers were as wretched as those in a slum in the Abra district. The rabbits looked stricken, many of them turning with critical and prying glares as the door slammed behind them, but the majority of the bar's customers - foxes dressed in armor and doublets - paid them no mind, instead shouting and raising their half-filled mugs in the air as a gorgeous white and black rabbit attended to their needs. Candles lit every table with an orange glow, with additional glims hanging from the beams overhead, and carpets adorned the floors for a more homely atmosphere.

Judy made a beeline for the tavern keeper with the Marshal and Ambassador flanking her, keeping her head low as the disruptive gazes of the room's rabbits followed her towards the tall rabbit leaning over the counter and deep in conversation with a fellow businessmammal.

He gave out a hearty laugh to his colleague as she arrived in front of the counter, not bothering to rest her rear in one of the stools and crossing her clenched paw over the other as she waited for him to attend to their needs. Impatience grew within her like a wildfire as his conversation continued, her foot bobbing against the floor, and eventually she let loose an irritated Ahem! that hastily drew his attention.

"The barmaid will attend to you shortly" The grey rabbit flatly announced, unmoving and uninterested at her presence, the friendliness on his face all but departed at the sight of her, and he returned to converse almost instantaneously. Judy made a sound that was half-angry half-frustrated, spinning on her heels and storming away from the counter with her raging emotions as suppressed as she could manage, her feet guiding her towards an empty table in an empty corner of the tavern.

She placed her rear firmly in the dimmest seat, letting her cloak fall to her waistline as she leaned in towards the sole flame, letting its warmth dry her face.

"Then I suppose we may order a drink?" Ambassador Dhani hopefully pondered aloud, his eyebrow raised in curiosity as he came to a rest on the chair across from her, lowering his hood with both paws. She answered with a flick of an ear, too preoccupied with her chin-in-palm cheek-bunched-against-fingers eyes-on-the-candle routine to bother replying to him or to Marshal Fenus, who had sat beside his vulpine counterpart as he surveyed the bar's patrons suspiciously. With a weary sigh she let her mind wander.

Marshal Certus may yet be innocent… Was all she could think, the flickering of the candle's flame beckoning her away from the conscious world. If that is the case, then what will you do, Judith? Nicholas's actions will be noone's save his own; your forgiveness was bestowed upon him, yes, but it is undeniable that something was amiss about him the day he… struck you. Of course, none will believe you. They'll blame him for everything. Why? Because you are a Princess, and he a scapegoat. Undoubtedly. It is the easier answer to blame his own being rather the mammal who had covered his tracks. He'll be driven mad by his own guilt. What if he resorts to hurting himself? What if he takes his blade to his own-

I will not grant him allowance to do that. She staunchly declared, her claws digging into her cheek as her gaze stiffened. Not once. Not ever. I will not lose him a second time. With God's paw itself I will find whatever Marshal Certus has hidden!

"My apologies for my tardiness, my good sers and madam!" A high pitched voice merrily interrupted, drawing Judy back into the bustle of the tavern. She turned her eyes away from the candle's flame and to the white-clad barmaid at the end of the table - the same rabbit she had witnessed being overtly flirtatious with the foxes at the other end of the establishment mere moments earlier. Truly she was a sight to behold; her long, slender ears towering above her petite structure and rounded facial features adorned with splotches of black and white.

"What may I serve you with?" She asked, a radiant beam on her face as her green gaze darted between her and the Ambassador.

"Your sweetest ale, for me," Dhani eagerly ordered, sending her an amicable smirk as he politely clasped his paws on the table, fiddling with his thumbs. The barmaid sent him a brief nod before her eyes darted to Judy's calculating glare.

"Make that two," She affably announced, a temporary grin coming onto her face as she pushed out her grey-clad chest and perked her ears, the sounds of the room flooding into them. The barmaid returned an equally cheerful smirk, a chuckle escaping past her lips as her gaze flew over to Marshal Fenus, still searching the room's occupants for even the slightest amount of trouble.

"And for you, my lord?" She gently inquired, her left paw clutching his right lying inactive on the table. Judy raised an eyebrow at her suddenly nervous tone, noticing the fur around the base of her ears had begun to bristling. It did not take her more than a moment for her to identify the source of her embarrassed infatuation, and her amused, half-lidded stare turned to the side of the Marshal's face as a grin came onto her muzzle.

"Nothing, thank you," Marshal Fenus blandly replied, drawing his paw away from the barmaid's and into his lap, blind to her advances. The black and white doe barely nodded in answer, her dilated eyes coveting the Marshal's face like a chest of gold until the air became lit with unease. In an instant she whisked away, pulling the blush visible under her fur with her as she disappeared through a doorway and into the tavern's back rooms.

Judy found her gaze still locked onto the Marshal's stiff face, catching the Ambassador doing the same out of the corner of her vision and feeling the white of her teeth peeking through her smile as the Fennec fox turned his confused expression towards the two of them.

"What?" He asked, dumbfounded, and Judy let loose a humored chuckle, inciting a frown from the short-tempered fox that only grew as Ambassador Dhani shook his beaming head to and fro.

"I may be but an infant in the eyes of Aphroxdite, but I can still recognize when a barmaid fancies a certain fox!" She mirthfully exclaimed, her paws gripping the edge of the table as she raised her chin, her smile widening as the blood drained from the Marshal's face and as he glanced over his shoulder towards the doorway where the barmaid had disappeared mere moments earlier, ears as heavy as irons and eyes as large as suns.

"You mean…" He managed to choke out, unable to find the right words as his startled gaze darted back to hers, but the Ambassador leaned in before she could finish.

"She means, had the both of you been in the privacy of the bedroom, you would have already knotted!" The Bengal fox blithely explained, his crude comment making Judy's ears fall and face redden, and she glanced around the tavern with her head lowered to ensure none of the other patrons had noticed his less than formal outburst.

"My Ambassador, I'd suggest you save the pillowtalk for the feast tonight," She quietly recommended, her head still low and ears bristling as she sent the fox a stern and nervous glare, receiving an apologetic bow of the head from him, and she turned towards the Marshal only to find him pressing against the sides of his skull with his paws as his elbows dug into the wooden tabletop. "My Marshal, surely you have caught the attention of maidens before?"

"Of course I have - but never a rabbit!" He agitatedly hissed, his voice lowered as he leaned towards her, ears flat behind his head. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, seeing as we are searching for unsavory individuals, I think you should be the one who questions her about her experiences," She thoughtfully suggested, her paws clasping politely in her lap and her ear flicking as the Marshal let out a deliberately sarcastic scoff.

"Why me?" He recalcitrantly questioned, his embarrassment beginning to fuel the fire under his fur and brown doublet.

"Because if she is predisposed to like you, then it is possible we may learn more if you are the one making headway in the conversation," She explained, lowering her voice to try and cool the Marshal's heated attitude. "Besides, whenever I've pried for knowledge my paws have turned up empty; this may well be our last chance to discover the truth behind these flowers before Certus strikes again!"

Marshal Fenus took a brief respite from fuming, closing his eyes and pondering on her words, his glower gradually fading back into an displeased but aware expression.

"If it may help the Prince, then I shall keep her attention," He conceded, straightening himself and rubbing his forehead with his forearm, as if he was wiping away his discontent. Judy sent him a thankful grimace, movement from across the busy room catching her attention.

"Let us hope you are as savvy as the Prince when it comes to romance," She jocosely joked with a flick of her ear, turning her full attention towards the barmaid hurrying towards their table with a metallic chalice in both her paws.

"For you, my ser," The eager doe started, hovering over the empty seat beside Judy as she leaned to give Dhani his drink, deliberately flashing a tuft of her chest fur in the Marshal's face. "And for you, my lady."

"My deepest thanks," Judy warmly thanked, catching the Ambassador raising his drink gratefully before downing a portion of it. She held her chalice of amber liquid in both her paws, too focused on the Marshal to bother sipping.

"If there is anything else I may entreat you with, please, do not hesitate to call me over," The barmaid announced, her hesitant emeralds returning to lock with the Marshal's suddenly prying gaze and raised cheeks, inciting the tips of her ears to redden and pupils to dilate.

"Actually, my sweet, I was wondering If I may inquire about some of your establishment's patrons," The short fox started, his tone as charming as a crystal waterfall, and he extended upwards to take the barmaid's paw into his own, caressing it as though it were a newborn kit. "That is, if you have the time."

If he has learned one thing from Nicholas after their years in the war, it is undoubtedly how to woo a foolish young female. Judy thought to herself, raising an eyebrow at the Marshal's smug demeanor.

"Of course!" The doe avidly exclaimed, her ears falling at the strokes against her paw and a flustered expression emerging onto her face as she lowered herself into the table's spare seat. "There are many that pass through here from week to week. Only a few… memorable characters stay on my mind for any longer."

"Do any Bengal foxes, such as my fine fellow here, make onto that list?" Marshal Fenus inquired, holding out a paw towards Ambassador Dhani.

"None that I can remember," The barmaid replied, weakly shaking her head after a second glance at the Ambassador's warm expression. Marshal Fenus nodded at her, squeezing her paw and drawing her hypnotized gaze back to his own.

"Can you recall any mammals that lingered on your conscious for undesirable reasons?" He gently pursued, tilting his head when the barmaid once again shook her head. "Mammals you thought as being suspicious? Were forced to take a second glance at?"

"Well…" The doe quietly started, her eyes falling to stare worriedly at the table's candle as if she was reluctant to speak of what was on her mind, but at the verbal urging of Marshal Fenus she continued, and Judy couldn't help but lean in, ears as stiff as reeds. "Ever since the Empire arrived in the Burrow I've served a great many soldiers, but there are two foxes who've been here since their kind's arrival who have yet to leave the tavern. They eat here, drink here, but depart every night. Refrain from looking now, but they are at the table behind the skulk I've been serving."

Judy disobeyed the barmaid and leaned around Marshal Fenus, catching sight of the merry soldiers cheering that she had spoken of. She squinted through the brightening lights, catching a break in the rows of foxes that revealed a small, dim table, where two figures sat - a white and a pale fox, both staring at the other members of their kind with disdain from the darkness of their hoods. Judy agreed with the doe; they truly did look out of place amongst their brethren.

"I know not of their aims, and have peered at them from time to time, but they rarely speak to one another, let alone me," She went on, an emotion scarcely resembling fear rising on her expression, but Marshal Fenus sent her an uplifting grin.

"Then we will ensure these unsavory sers will trouble you no more," He reassuringly guaranteed, his eyes begging Judy to let him depart from the barmaid while the remainder of his face remained steadfast in his genial guise. "Won't we, my lady?"

"We will, my lord," Judy replied, a two-dimensional grimace rising on her muzzle as she stood and flicked her finger between her and the Ambassador. The foriegn fox stared at her blankly for a moment before he smiled, downing the final portion of his drink as he rose, alerted to what she was doing.

"Why don't you remain here and converse with this lovely doe?" She smugly asked - though it was more like an order - and at it the forced light in the Marshal's eyes fell along with any other merry thoughts behind his facade.

"What a splendid idea!" The barmaid exclaimed, her head whirling back to the Marshal's face with her cheeks pink with blush. "I must admit I've had an irking yearning to become your acquaintance ever since I laid my eyes upon you."

"A million favors I owe you, my lady," The Marshal cautiously replied with fabricated thanks, his stone cold expression still freezing hers, but the barmaid drew his full heed away from her with a squeeze of his paw and words of romance.

"Let us hope the Marshal will become less stubborn after this afternoon," Judy whispered in Ambassador Dhani's ear as she rounded him, the fox quietly chuckling in conclusiveness as he followed her with her untouched chalice firmly in his paw.

Their lightheartedness wore off as swiftly as a morose chipmunk, a frown entrenching itself upon her firm brow as she made her way around the perimeter of the tavern, making careful sure the two foxes in the far corner wouldn't catch her nor the Ambassador approaching.

By the time they skirted the merry soldiers the two were speaking in hushed whispers, thankfully their gazes cast at their drinks oppossed to her. Once she was in speaking distance she slammed her paws against their flimsy wooden table, leaning between them, shaking the alcohol in their cups and drawing their piercing gazes made dim from the shadow of their hoods.

"If you make a sound, I will not hesitate to strike," She discreetly threatened, her head indecisively turning from one to the other, but the pale fox leaned dangerously close towards her with an emotion so dark she felt as though she were staring at a personification of night himself.

"Why should I perk my ears at some uncouth wench?" He tonelessly questioned with a critical shake of his head, clearly not expecting any response, and in the blink of an eye Judy drew her dagger from underneath her dress's waistline and held it against the fox's throat. Her stiff ears caught sound of Dhani doing the same, and she peered into her quarry's alert yet unintimidated brown gaze with a truly dangerous amount of strength and dedication.

"At my disposable range a great many mammals, some of which reside in the King's Palace," She answered, her voice menacingly low. "They will not hesitate to bring you to justice if you go against my requests. You will answer every question I pose to you, without interruption or deceit."

"Do I make myself absolutely clear?" She severely questioned, her gaze flying over her shoulder to stare at the Arctic fox Ambassador Dhani had cornered with his curved blade, whose crystal blue eyes were as wide as rivers and face as skittish as a weasel - the virtual opposite of the pale fox. He nodded profusely, his counterpart joining in far less enthusiastically, but at their wordless responses Judy ordered Dhani to retract his knife, hiding her own dagger beneath her gown once again.

"Good," She confidently started, her eyes darting between the fox's hoods. "First, reveal your faces, then state your intentions in the Burrow."

The foxes obeyed, drawing back their disguises and revealing their faces - ordinary in shape and size, unrevealing to their characters. The Arctic fox stared nervously at his acquaintance for a long moment, but the Pale fox turned away from him with a more dignified glint in his gaze, and Judy felt her ears perk, suspicious interest driving them even higher.

"I am a trained Medicus, and this my assistant," He flatly explained, tilting his head towards the Arctic fox, and at his words Judy felt a confused frown take hold of her face and took a knee beside him.

"We've been assigned with the Second Army since the Battle at Redferry Crossing, and are merely worn at the long hours we have spent away from home," The pale fox continued, taking a small drink of his mead as his heavy gaze fell to stare at the table's dying candle, eyes alight with a memory undoubtedly of home.

Judy found herself speechless for several seconds, dumbfounded that the two foxes she had pictured working in cahoots with the Marshal had turned out to be innocent doctors caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even in the Arctic Fox's jittery gaze she could see a home, a family, a life beyond her own assumptions, and she clenched her mouth and raised from her kneel with her paw on her breast.

"My sincerest apologies for coming off so hostile," She hurriedly started, placing a paw on the shoulder of the pale fox, and he turned his brown eyes up to her wearily. "I did not mean to ruffle your coats. What I pictured you as had no validation whatsoever; and so I entreat you, from a victim's loved one to a doctor, may you shed light on what plagues my betrothed?"

"Of course," The pale fox confirmed, a small grin coming onto his snout, and Judy returned a thankful smile as she drew the rectangular metallic case from her pocket and placed it on the table, opening it with both her paws and revealing the mythically stunning shades of red and blue inside.

"I've spent many of my hours searching for the names of these plants, but to no avail," She explained, her paws clutching in front of her waist as she watched the pale fox pick up a red petal up in his claws, holding it front of the candle and briefly allowing his gaze to dart to the Arctic fox's worried expression across the table.

"This is called the Day Whiner," He eventually revealed, peeling a blue petal from the other flower's bud and holding it beside the red. "And this, a Night Howler."

"Alone the Day Whiner is harmless - somewhat addictive, but harmless. We use them to prolong the effects of medicines and antidotes," He went on, his gaze turning a shade darker as he brought the Night Howler's petal towards Judy's observant gaze. "The Night Howler, though, is a flower to be feared. Only those with the steadiest paws wield it, for the slightest touch will drive one mad beyond belief. Thankfully they only grow along a small part of the Empire's eastern coast, remote from many settlements."

"But…" The pale fox continued, taking a brief pause as he layered the blue petal over the red and held them towards the candlelight, creating a single, noxiously purple color. "Together, they would be a dangerous concoction. Paired with the Day Whiner's lengthy and strengthening effects, a mix of such magnitude could have a variety of consequences - violent tendencies, a change of character, fury directed at either all or one - the list goes on."

"That is very reminiscent to what has befallen the Princ- excuse me, my betrothed!" Judy started, hastily correcting herself with an anxious grin when she nearly gave away her cover, though thankfully the doctor failed to notice her outburst, too infatuated with looking at the petals to bother taking note of it.

"If your to-be husband has been afflicted with the Day Whiner-Night Howler mix, then you must ensure he rests," He seriously ordered, a frown parting his brow as he let the petals fall back into their metallic case and turned his eyes towards her. "I know not how he would have come down with such a case, but he will be under immense stress from suddenly halting his intake of the poison. He may yet act aggressively again on rare occasions, but that is dependent on how much of the mixture he had absorbed. It is critical you keep him at ease, calm and comfortable, and do not allow him to participate in any violent activity if he is to fully recover. Now do I make myself clear?"

"As a spring, my good Ser," Judy hastily confirmed, nodding profusely as she shut the metallic case and shoved it into her gown's pocket, her paw clutching it tightly as her mind jotted down every word from the medician's instruction.

"I must commend you on your knowledge of herbs, where even my own efforts failed," She graciously continued, sending both the pale fox and his still ever so unnerved arctic counterpart a deeply thankful smile despite the ill feelings directed at Marshal Certus welling up behind it. "And if there is anything I can do for you-"

"Assisting you was more than rewarding, my Lady," The pale fox stoically interrupted, waving a paw as an emotionless expression returned to his face and as his attention shifted back to his drink. Judy felt her cheeks flare up with gratitude even further, bowing in farewell to the foxes before she turned and unhurriedly made her way back towards their table, the Ambassador to her left.

"It is now irrefutable to me that Marshal Certus's paw has held sway over my fiance's drastic changes," She quietly revealed, her cozy demeanor turning a thousand shades darker as her ears collapsed stiffly behind her head. "The signs were all in the medician's words - it was as though he was telling me the past, present, and future of Nicholas. And I do not care for his future, if this escapade continues for even a day longer."

"Then we must bring word to the Emperor of the Marshal's betrayal immediately," The Ambassador grievously commented, tilting the cup in his paw back as the last of her drink poured down his throat, leaving his breath filled with the sweetness of the liquor. She shook her head in disagreement, a plan slowly sprouting within her as though a crop while her gaze surveyed the room blankly.

"Despite the Emperor being an ally, I do not think it would be in our interests to bring this to his attention," She gravely countered, her ear twitching and jaw beginning to grind as she pictured the bruises strewn across Nicholas's torso - left there by none other than his sovereign. "I feel as though his belief that the Prince is solely to blame for his actions has already been cast in iron."

"Do I sense another covert approach to dealing with the Marshal?" The Ambassador asked, raising an eyebrow as he swiftly set his empty chalice on a passing table, his tail swishing back and forth in interest.

"Not a ploy to deal with the Marshal, but to remove him. Permanently," She corrected, her eyes darting to the his for long enough to promise she'd reveal her course of action soon enough. "Though we must count on the Marshal attempting harm on Nicholas tonight."

"Whatever your plans, I will be by your side," The Ambassador reassured, his voice as hard yet steady as the Palace's foundations. Judy blinked at him in wordless thanks, touched that he would be so dedicated to her and the Prince as they were to one another.

Marshal Fenus, still trapped in a one-sided conversation with the chatty barmaid, only turned his head over his shoulder to stare at Judy and the Ambassador when the doe alerted him to their approach with an outstretched paw.

Even Judy, her humor callused by the pale fox's grim news, chuckled and grimaced as the Marshal stood and whisked towards them only to find the barmaid's fingers interlocked with his, her smile as wide as a valley and his ears gradually falling behind his head as a half-furious half-embarrassed frown furrowed into his brow and lit his gaze.

"It appears as though the two of you have already become friends! In no less than a few minutes, at that!" Judy merrily exclaimed once she had come to a stop before the two mammals with her arms crossed over her chest - their faces red with two very different forms of blush.

"Oh, truly, and I must confess I have taken quite a liking to Ser Fenus here," The barmaid chirply chirped, the bases of her ears bristling as her scent washed over Judy. She forced her eyebrow to stay firmly in its place, her nose twitching incessantly at the risque smells coming from the barmaid's gown that only seemed to turn her face - and the Marshal's, for that matter - a deeper shade of crimson.

"Anyways," The barmaid awkwardly continued, clearing her throat with a cough into her fist and a glance to her side. "Have the Ser and Lady had any luck with the two foxes?"

"You may fret over them no further, for they are just weary doctors, wishing to be at home," The Ambassador elucidated, his flattened ears revealing he too could smell the doe's dirty scent.

"Oh!" The barmaid exclaimed in radiant astonishment as she turned towards the foxes, Judy following her gaze towards the two mammals who only glared back at them. "That is certainly a pleasant surprise! And to think these past weeks I've been wary over naught!"

"Well, if you are secure enough in both body and mind, my maiden, then I am afraid it is time for me to depart," Marshal Fenus hastily interjected with a forced chuckle, seizing the opportunity to escape from the barmaid's tight grip and plunging his paw into his pocket, withdrawing a stack of coins and thumbing through them in his palm. "Now what is the payment I owe you for my colleague's drinks?"

The barmaid took a step towards the Marshal without replying, closing the gap he had created between them and taking his gold filled-paw into both her own with a grateful tint in her smile.

"No charge for you - or your friends - for as long as the skies are blue," She dotingly chimed, carefully closing his paw shut while her green eyes tore down whatever harshness was concealed in his gaze, leaving him defenseless to Judy's prying amethysts.

For the love of God! She thought to herself in merry surprise, a huff of joyous laughter escaping from her throat. He's in love!

"That is very kind of you," Ambassador Dhani thanked with a bow of his head, knocking her with his elbow. Judy snapped her mouth shut at the impact, grimacing wildly at the doe-eyed doe as she forced her back into an arch and sent her ears rocketing upwards in a vain attempt to conceal her excitement.

"Indeed," Was all the Marshal said in farewell, an aggrieved expression on his half-snarling face as he shoved the coins back into his pocket and stormed between Judy and the Ambassador, making straight for the door as he pulled his hood over his ears.

Judy follow him with a shrug and a roll of the eyes directed at the Ambassador's grin, pulling her own hood over her ears as the Marshal pulled open the tavern's door and stepped out into the grey drizzle.

"Please, my Ser Fenus, return whenever your feet guide you!" The barmaid anxiously shouted, raising onto her toes as she peered, watching the Marshal file onto the street. "And may all the heavens light your path!"

Judy sent the doe a final, almost congratulatory grin before she slammed the tavern's door, turning immediately for Marshal Fenus, who had begun to stalk down the muddy dirt street.

"She was certainly the nice lady!" She exclaimed when she had caught up to his side, paws in her pockets as she watched the Fennec fox skulk along. "Very attentive, as well!"

"I made sure to be as vague as I could've in my discussion to ensure the success of your own conversation," He growled, his dismal glare darting to hers as his shoulders sagged under the weight of his damp coat. "Which I assume to be enlightening?"

"Very," She flatly confirmed with a nod, her now sullen eyes darting to the crossroad ahead that led to the bridge heading back across the river as her muscles stiffened. "Thankfully we have a timely journey back to the Palace - and I intend to make use of the hours."


	16. Chapter Fourteen

**Back in March, when my first story, _Primal: A Zootopia Fanfiction_ , came to a swift conclusion I promised you, the readers and supporters of my work, that I'd be updating _A Fox in Shining Armor_ twice a month, and would have the prologue to Primal's sequel, _Intrigue_ , out by the end of Summer.**

 **I haven't lived up to these promises, and though I could make excuses to avoid them I'll take them like a man. I haven't updated as much as I should've been these past months, and I certainly haven't kept the deadline for _Intrigue_. That is why I will overwrite all previous dates I have set; from now on, _AFISA_ will be updated bimonthly and _Intrigue_ Once a month, starting with the release of it's Prologue on October 1st.**

 **This brings me to my next point;**

 ** _INTRIGUE_ is being released after months of waiting! Woo hoo! Dual release babbbyyy! On October 1st! So get ready!**

 **This is a nearly 15k long chapter. Lots of effort into this, so I sincerely hope you enjoy! If not, comment why! Criticism is always appreciated!**

* * *

"You have hardly touched your meal, my Prince," Judy apprehensively noted, her eyes descending rightward to the immaculate cooked trout lying silver-plated in front of her betrothed, her demeanor cool and cordial while uneasiness fizzled underneath both frown and fur. Nicholas barely batted an eye at her in wordless reply, his paws resting lifelessly on the table's scarlet cloth.

"I can hardly stomach the sight of food, let alone it's taste," He enervatingly spoke, his limp ears so dismal Judy thought they would snap off and his gaze so heavy that it buckled under its own weight, dragging itself downwards.

Even his attire, a freshly sewn white and gold doublet accompanied by a simple iron band crown similar to the Emperor's, purposefully crafted to appear as lively and commanding as possible, only emphasized his feeble nature. Judging by the din of hushed conversations echoing throughout the heights of the Palace's Feast Hall, many attendees had already taken note.

With a partially critical, partially stricken spark in her purple gaze Judy turned her head towards the rows of lords, nobles, and most commonly their sons neatly sitting on long benches with foods of all descriptions piled before their hungry mouths, keeping her clenched paws on her cutlery.

For but a brief moment her eyes were on Marshal Certus, seated at the table reserved for the Empire's higher-ups with his mouth open in laughter as a parts of a fish fell from between his teeth, and a tide of resentment passed over her as she watched his merriness. His status would be the absolute opposite by the end of the night.

A multitude of accents passed through her attentive ears, some discussing serious matters aside from her betrothed, such as the somewhat criminal state of her brothers, but more often than not troublesome words assaulted her already uneasy conscious.

Savage, Slaughter, and even the odd Should be executed from the most spiteful voices in the masses were the nadir of her existence, and to prevent herself from inelegantly catapulting over her meal and vehemently defending her fox from the almost entirely unfounded accounts of his vicious attack she impaled a sliced beet on her fork and ground it between her teeth until it became liquid.

 _They recount my pain, but not his sorrow, nor his apology._ She sourly thought, squeezing her wine-filled silver chalice as she swallowed the food in her mouth and rinsed it down her dry throat. _They adapt the story to their own agendas. Some mammals will never change._

At that absolute thought her eyes darted to confront a pair staring at her from the far end of the benches, hardly visible thanks to the overhanging chandeliers. Prince Gregory's silently seething gaze would not end its pestering even when she returned to him a staunch glare, but thankfully none of the downtrodden rabbits seated around him - among them Prince Lucas, with a cast around his ankle - dared to raise their ears past the tops of their heads, too consumed scarfing down what morsels had been laid out for them.

"I can have them repledge their allegiances to you and Prince Wilde now instead of during the honorary speech, if that would ease your worrying," King Hopps hopefully suggested, leaning over from his seat to talk into her left ear as he loudly chewed a nut. Judy met his interested stare with a thankful yet declining grin, slowly tossing her head back and forth as she set down her fork and gripped Nicholas's paw, drawing his weary eyes up to her father.

"They are mere pebbles at the bed of our roaring river, my Lord," She strongly reaffirmed, squeezing her betrothed's limp paw as a signal for him to smile at the King's courteous expression, and as her cheeks rose higher so did his. "They may repledge their loyalties on their own free will, but I shall dictate when."

"If that is what you wish, I will not thrust any rush upon you," The King respectfully conceded, bowing his head as he returned to the waiting face of Minister Vince, seated to his left.

With her cheeks still high and her paw still locked with his Judy felt her warm grin shift towards her partner, his facade of friendliness not dissuading her from stroking his bruised eye with a gentle paw. At the soft touch he flinched - not much, yet enough to draw the Emperor's critical glare from his opposite side, thankfully out of his sight, for a blatant scouring of both a worried and frustrated manner.

"All this trouble will be but an ill memory by the end of this night, my Prince," She lovingly reassured, her voice loud enough so only he could hear, and she cupped his soft cheek fur in her palm and kept their gazes locked in an uninterrupted connection.

Whatever words he wished to speak did not manifest themselves. He blinked wearily in silent reply, his merry mask breaking just enough for her to glimpse the lethal levels of guilt and self-loathing seeping from behind his conscience and into his emerald gaze.

If her tattered heart had not been utterly dedicated to righting the wrongs brought against Nicholas, then by her throbbing being and all the stars above she was ready now.

With a final, soothing squeeze of his paw and a slow, almost sorrowful blink Judy separated herself from Nicholas, whisking down the row of foxes and rabbits that constituted the members of the room's elevated high table. She exhibited as friendly and cordial an expression as she could muster, yet behind her facial fur stone cold stiffness sprang to life.

She sent Lord Lucas, seated at the table's last seat, a fresh smile as she rounded him, hurrying past the gentile rabbit with her mind set on passing through the half-opened grand doors that led outside, into the air heavy with water and moonlight shrouded by clouds.

Barely a soul greeted her as she slid down the steps and slipped around the outdoor inhabitants, the dozen or so palace guards not even sparing a glance and the scattered Lords and other officials too busy conversing with one another to bother addressing her. There was a small skulk, however, that did bless her with bows, and she hurried towards the steel-clad squad's topless leader with a small frown furrowed into her brow and a partially agitated partially excited beam upon her muzzle.

"My Ambassador Dhani, it is a pleasure to finally receive your presence," She swiftly greeted, acknowledging the curved-sword wielding guards with a quick nod and incessantly surveying the surrounding mammals with both her ears, and at her alerted gaze the Ambassador smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"I must apologize for my uncouth absence, my Princess," He animatedly responded, his paws clutching behind his waist as his amused expression turned two dimensional. "You see, an 'unexpected arrival'-"

With those words Ambassador Dhani covertly flicked the tip of his slender tan tail at the pawful of guards standing at his heels.

"-required my full attention."

"I understand entirely, my good Ambassador," Judy stiffly replied win a curt nod, faking a cough with a fist before her mouth as she flicked an ear towards the dining hall. She took a minuscule pace towards the Bengal fox, who in turn leaned towards her mouth without daring to glance at her, as she turned over her shoulder and stared at the hall's warm glow and listened to its mixed din, her ears and eyes completely stiffened.

"Then all is ready for our ploy?" She quietly queried, attempting to move her tensed jaw as little as possible as she watched the palace guards at the foot of the hall's stone steps meander in formation.

"If the Marshal is prepared for your plan," He speculatively confirmed, his tone as hushed as hers, and Judy curtly nodded.

"He is, I can assure you," She callously replied, a brief feeling of panic rushing over her as a staunch Lord with brown fur and a green tunic hurried past them, chalice in paw, and she took a deliberate step away from the Ambassador before she slipped back to his side, unnoticed.

"He has the concoctions we agreed upon on his being," She speedily went on, body even tenser than before and her eyes scanning the mammals around them with a greater amount of criticism. "When my father and the Emperor begin their speeches and that vile Certus is distracted, he will slip the chemicals into his drink covertly. I must give thanks to his courtier for bringing to my attention that only after the speeches are done will he present the Prince with wine. Then is when we will have him by the tail, and demand an explanation before all. Regardless of the consequences, we will have justice."

"I will be by your side until the end, my Princess," He decidedly vowed without hesitation, and Judy managed a brief glance at him, her breast genuinely touched by his unwavering loyalty. Deep within his pools of amber she could sense he cared about her and the Prince more than most would, despite how sober he acted otherwise.

"You are a good friend, Dhani," She graciously announced, a visibly stirred grin painted onto her muzzle, and the Bengal fox's gaze darted to hers for half an instant as an honest and thankful smile flared on his cheeks.

"I know not when my father will speak, but I require you and your foxes to be able to move at a moment's notice," She hurriedly continued, her heart pounding against her ribs as the final pieces to her plan fell into place and as her watchful gaze returned to the mammals through the dining hall's doorway. "Remain drawn into conversation, but do not stray too far from the head table. When I give the signal, you and your guards need to be in close proximity to the Marshal if we are to prevail. Follow me close - act as though you are just arriving to the merriment from a long trip."

Both she and him burst out into sudden laughter at that order, and she placed a paw against her chest and squeezed her gleeful gaze shut as she crossed the gravel path that ran by the hall's entrance, radiant Dhani to her side and his iron-faced guards flanking them closely.

"That was when his ears turned as red as the blood within him, when we smelled what that rabbit thought of him!" The Ambassador wholeheartedly laughed, his paws against his stomach and his serrated maw wide open in a beam. Judy instantly recognized the Fennec fox he was speaking of, and at the recollection of events mere hours prior of the barmaid flirting with the stubborn Marshal her fabricated chuckles became entwined with genuine amusement.

"You must tell me the conclusion to that tale some other time!" She merrily exclaimed, her paw falling from her breast and her toothy grin closing as she and the Ambassador climbed the few steps leading to the hall's entrance. She breathed a minute sigh of relief as they passed through its half-open doors, the swift fox Captain outside only sparing a minimal glance towards the two of the and the armed skulk following.

The wetness retreated from the air, replaced by warmth and the tastes of a hundred different spirits and foods that made her nose wrinkle. The Ambassador slowly nodded in approval as he surveyed the feast with studious eyes and erect ears, his guards taking point around him.

"Until then, my Princess," Was all he said in farewell, sending her a small bow and staunch smile as he meandered towards the first table before them, and Judy returned the same courtesy as she spun on her heels and walked he length of the long bench back towards her place at he head table.

Though her pace was slower than she would have preferred; a fresh trying worry had forced itself upon her, and despite her attempts to refuse it she could not stop her eyes from turning towards the far side of the room.

Aside from the rows of benches set up for the Lords and the head table reserved for higher officials and regal guests there was a smaller group of mammals that sat at their own unique place. Among them were the courts of both her father and the Emperor, and through the masses of swaying ears and twirling tails she managed to glimpse a short, sharp face accompanied by two enormous ears.

The Marshal sent her a small nod and flashed a flask from under his sleeve, and at the sight of the clear liquid in the bottle Judy felt her body tense.

 _There is no reason to be this anxious, Judith._ She apprehensively scolded, nodding back to the Marshal without a grin while rounding Lord Lucas once again. _Marshal Certus is guilty of torture in the highest degrees. If you are to bring the full weight of the iron paw against him, you must cast away this trivial nervousness of yours and remain steadfast and unwavering! Is that clear?_

 _Even to a blind mole_. She hastily assured, collecting herself with a deep breath and reassuring nod, and an excited grin grew on her face as she strode behind the unmoving form of Nicholas and took her place on her high chair beside him.

"Are Ambassador Dhani and Marshal Fenus involved in your plot?" A voice stiffly asked before she could return to her plate of vegetables, and as she scooted herself towards her platter her eyes turned towards Nicholas to find his wary emeralds silently boring into her.

"They are assisting me, yes," She gently answered, studying her betrothed's inquisitive expression and nodding as she pulled a grape from its step and popped it into her mouth. Nicholas's gaze fell at her answer, his paws becoming motionless on his lap while his ears went as limp as the cooked fish before him.

"You must come to understand, Judith, that your pursuit for blame will end fruitlessly, without reap or reward," He forlornly begged, his sordid gaze weakly rising to hers and making her heart swell under its weight. "You seek punishment for an innocent mammal; by my own paws you were hurt, not by Certus's or some associate. Even a kit could understand that the weight of law must be brought down upon me and not a scapegoat."

"Your eyes have yet to see what mine have, Nicholas," She thoughtfully countered, resting her paw atop his as her ears became limp behind her tight green dress. Sorrow imbedded itself in her voice, her entire being torn at the utter hardship reflecting out of the Prince's dismal gaze. How she longed to see it glow once again.

"But-" He started to retort, yet before he could reveal his thoughts her paw was stroking the side of his face, her grey fingers slipping through his cream white fur.

"Do you hold faith in me?" She lightly asked with a genial smile, and for just a moment the din of festivities all about them retreated, leaving their stare uninterrupted. She could feel his sharp teeth grinding against one another through his cheeks, his vacant eyes staring into her deep pools of warm purple until they darted to her cheek, dampening with horror as they caught sight of the only half healed bruise and claw marks.

"Unwaveringly," He managed to whimper, his nigh-silent voice almost losing itself in the room's ever rising din. A feeling devoid of any fire or tears slid into Judy's chest at that, her face warming as she guided his watery eyes back to hers with a benign paw.

"Then grant me the strength that I will need to complete this arduous task," She dotingly ended, cupping his cheek with one paw as the other rested against his knee. No matter what the sunrise tomorrow would bring, they would still both be here, their chests still beating for the other and their furs still rubbing together. Judy spotted a twinkle in her smile at that thought.

Nicholas's melancholy expression appeared unconvinced still, but if any dissent stirred behind his unalleviated, guilt-ridden gaze they were ushered away by three loud echoing knocks from directly behind her.

As his eyes darted to the source of the authoritative noise Judy whirled around in her chair, eyes and ears high, her left paw falling from Nicholas's cheek while her right moved from his knee to his lap to grip his motionless paw. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared up at her father, his fist smashing against the table another three times as the senior Lords around him called for silence.

Soon they had it, the hall's conversations fizzling out like sugar in rain as dozens of pairs of eyes turned towards the head of the room, and as King Hopps rose from his ornate chair with chalice in paw and his regal red doublet contrasting with his light fur like night and day Judy couldn't help but begin to bounce her leg and feel excitement in the air about her.

 _He begins his speech this early!_ She thought, surprised, her head spinning towards the uneven rows of mammals sprawled before her while her gaze frantically scanned the mixed crowd for the Ambassador and Marshal. Her search only lasted for but a few moments before her left paw was flattening her grey and gold dress, a new warning having sprouted beneath her skull.

 _Refrain from staring; they are prepared to play their parts_. She silently bolstered as she flattened the fur on her head, turning back towards her father with an attentive and courtly expression, and from the corner of her gaze she caught Nicholas sending the King a poorly feigned smile.

"For the first time in a long while, we gather not for victory in battle, nor triumph in tourney, nor honoring the dead," King Hopps proudly began, his voice echoing throughout the cavernous room like a thunderbolt as dozen of mammals, including Judy herself, raised their ears even higher. "We are here today to honor a sole word; Peace. The cessation of hostilities between our kind. A realm united, eternally, through a binding of our dynasties."

Judy glanced at Nicholas for a brief second, sending him a loving glare while his own expression remained unchanged even as his gaze darted to meet hers.

"But the path here has not been easy!" The King countered, his triumphant beam fading into a reminiscent grin as a single one of his fingers rose. "In these past weeks we have been confronted with rebellion, assault, tourney, and intrigue. And though we have overcome these great obstacles, it has not been without personal insurrection."

A small number of silent whispers and scowls arose at that comment, pointed towards Princes Gregory and Lucas. Judy couldn't help but follow the conversations, her muscles tensing and her paw clutched around Nicholas's tightening as she looked over the tableful of traitorous rabbits, focusing particularly on the two Princes at its forefront.

Prince Gregory's silently seething scowl was still burning into her like a branding iron, yet thankfully his younger brother followed the example of the dishonored lords around him, keeping his ears flat behind his head and his uncertain gaze darting between the rabbits seated at the head table, occasionally locking with her harsh stare.

Deep within her memories she could still recall the two young bucks she knew in her youth slapping against one another with wooden swords, engaging in mock battles as they gave heroic soliloquies like the heroes of old, but now, held in contempt by a feastful of mostly hostile equals, she only vaguely recognized her once so easy siblings.

 _They have aggrieved you, and all of rabbitkind, but holding them in contempt will only further hinder their eventual conversions into tolerance._ She vehemently thought, fighting against a voice that cried for her to imprison the both for aggrieving her sweet fox, her solid gaze refusing to back down from Gregory's glare, but eventually she managed to gulp down her vexation and turn back to her father's stoic glare that spared no rabbit sitting at the cramped table.

"Prince Gregory Ranfield Hopps and Prince Lucas Mormot Hopps, my own sons, you have gone against the will of your sovereign and launched a vile assault against your future brother-in-law, Prince Nicholas Wilde," He staunchly declared, his frown much better contained than it had been when he had first received the news. "And you, Lords Warby and Fult, Carden and Harrot, Donner and Sher, and Ser Kinkey, have followed in their disastrous footsteps."

As each of her brother's cohort's names were listed aloud their ears lowered further towards the earth, humiliated, and some were forced to close their eyes or face the critical gazes of the crowds encircling them.

"Yet you may repent your sins, through the virtue of loyalty," King Hopps continued, hope flaring in his voice as he motioned the group up from their seats with a wave of his paw, and the rabbits eagerly obeyed, Prince Lucas especially, though Judy noticed with annoyance that Gregory was lacking a skip in his step.

"Pledge allegiance to your sovereign, your allies, your future Queen, your future King, and spend your days ridding yourself of this backwards attitude that has stirred so much trouble within our grand realm , and all your crimes will be forgiven," He steadily promised, and Judy watched carefully, a paw rising to rest on her chin and her temperature cooling one degree at a time, as one by one the standing rabbits lowered to a single knee.

"I pledge my life," They promised intermittently, each rabbit taking his own time to get his words out. Lucas was the first, glancing up at Judy with a wide, pleading gaze as he hurriedly spoke, while Gregory was the last, his sullen yet obeying expression pointed directly at the floor.

All Judy could do was nod in acceptance, feeling the gaze of her father on her hot cheek. Every one of these mammals had the ability change; she saw the light beyond their closed mindedness, and, given time, she knew they would all one day be able to hold court with one another. For the moment, however, she would need some days to come to terms with the fact that these rabbits had attempted to take her lover's life - like, as it seemed to her, other, more nefarious foxes, were trying to do.

"By the authority granted to me by all of rabbitkind and the lord above, I spare you from punishment aside from the guilt of your misdeeds," King Hopps exonerated, raising his goblet high above his golden crown as the kneeling rabbits rose with loud breaths, some drawing crosses over their chests and praying while her brothers both shuffled towards the hall's half opened doors, guards lined along the walls coming to escort them and the gradual flow of their accomplices. "Let us seal this decision with a toast - to peace!"

Judy glanced towards Nicholas as the hall fell silent, ignoring her brothers as they passed outside, its occupants downing their cups with an agreeable cheer, to find him not having shifted towards his chalice even a hair.

"Do you wish for my brothers and their allies to endure punishments for their crimes?" She quietly whispered into his ear, drawing his forcibly calm eyes towards her caring and interested expression with a gentle squeeze of his paw.

"Their paws have perpetrated no foul deeds," He murmured in reply, his cold face turning back to the crowd as his facade fell for but a short instant, yet it was no more than she needed for her stomach to twist and writhe. "They are a sheathed rapier, new of steel, built for a purpose yet able to mould with effort. It's foul defendant is not so fortunate..."

"Nicholas, my fox, please, do not hold yourself in such contemp-" She sharply begged, her swollen chambers pressing at her ribs, yet shouts and cheers rang out throughout the hall before her voice subsided, a hundred chalices slamming onto the wooden tables all at once.

In the merry post-toast chaos she planted her rear firmly on her seat again, her teeth grinding loudly as she relentlessly scoured the cheerful face of Marshal Certus from beneath her formal demeanor from half the room away. The Bengal fox was speaking casually with Marshal Alsius, who was seated further to his right, the fateful tampered bottle of wine intended for the Prince out of his view in addition to his own half-filled ceremonial cup of a less affective liquor.

Through the bleakness of her glare Judy saw a pair of two amber eyes staring at her, her mind not taking an instant to recognize the gaze as Marshal Fenus's, and she sent the grim-faced fox a curt nod before her eyes darted away, only catching a glimpse of him covertly withdrawing the clear concoction he had hidden under his tunic.

No more than a second later she spotted Marshal Certus in the crowd with his goblet in his paw, oblivious to her colleague's actions, and she breathed a minute sigh of relief.

"There are some mammals here who have especially earned this night of relaxation and recuperation," Emperor Canus seriously spoke, his booming voice drowning all others in the room and reintroducing patient silence. Judy turned towards the massive white-doublet clad fox at the sound of his speech, looking over him with a keen frown, the imagery of the afflicted wine bottle echoing throughout her mind, as he raised from his chair with his paws firmly planted on the table and his tail limp on his seat.

"I speak of your sons of the kingdom, who I now, on this night, honorarily consecrate as the sons of the Empire," He stiffly announced, straightening himself as his paws fell behind his waist and as his controlled gaze swept over the crowd. "If what my Grand Marshal Paratus tells me of your training is true, then we have nothing to fear from any foreign aggressor that may seek to harm our friendship. Let us now salute these wonderful bucks who shall one day take their father's places in this great assembly!"

Applause and yells of support rang out from the benches, and Judy joined in the ruckus with a few claps of her own, resting her paws on her lap while Nicholas meekly followed. The young additions in the crowd, aside from her motionless and far from radiant brothers, stiffened their ears proudly, basking in their triumph as their fathers gave them respect in a dozen different ways.

"You are all fine young mammals, now equipped with the modern military knowledge of the Empire," The Emperor continued a little more casually, and a grin even managed to trek onto his muzzle. "You are indispensable; refrain from hoarding your skills for yourselves, but instead let us combine our strengths to make this world better for all breeds."

"Yet I shall not conclude there," The Emperor solemnly went on, taking a brief pause as his pleasure faded into memory and while direness returned to his expression. "I must grant my highest respect to the Empire's Marshal's who have spent tiring hours out of their own time passing down their knowledge in experiences. There is one mammal, though, that I must acknowledge in particular. Prince Wilde."

Her startled gaze widened tenfold and ears sprung like reeds as Judy instantaneously darted her attention towards her betrothed, whose own surprised and somewhat distraught face was staring up at the Emperor's still features.

"Without your assistance in preparing and executing this program and monitoring it's ever adapting results its success would have been far less expansive in scale," The huge fox flatly praised, yet it was more of a listing that a genuine compliment, his unfocused green eyes deliberately positioned towards the hall's far wall as though he could not bring himself to look at his successor. "With that, you have my genuine thanks."

Judy let an august smile rise on her cheeks as she clapped away at Nicholas, having rarely felt so proud of him before and delighted to see his dedication to rabbits he had rarely known pay off with a public applause.

Yet her positivity quickly withdrew, horror taking its awful place within her in its stead.

Out of the dozens - hundreds of mammals seated in the room, only a number so small they could be counted with her digits were clapping, the majority of them unenthusiasticly. Her, Marshal Fenus, and Ambassador Dhani were the loudest, yet, much to her dismay, Marshal Certus soon joined their ranks with a loyal expression entrenched onto his face.

In place of gratitude vile whispers arose from virtually every corner of the hall, and as Judy watched the small amount of light in Nicholas's gaze fade into tears she felt pity for her betrothed for forcing himself to remain so contained under such terrible circumstances.

They do not join in out of spite, only petty anger. She grimly noted, dropping her paws onto her thighs before holding Nicholas's paw for a second time, this occasion receiving no squeeze in return, all the while her stern gaze sweeping the benches of mammals. Marshal Certus has every one of them fooled. All meekly playing into his mitts.

"Let us not waste any more breath on addresses; instead let the wine flow forth once again!" Emperor Canus commanded, ending the awkwardly long silence as he lowered himself back into his chair, his form lacking vitality, and turned with a hushed word to Grand Marshal Paratus. Conversation quickly arose thereafter, the Lords and Sers returning to their regular bickerings and discussions.

Judy kept her hurt eyes on her plate of vegetables, each second as long as a lifetime as she interlocked her fingers with Nicholas's and slowly bobbed he knee up and down, waiting patiently for the moment Marshal Certus would appear before them bearing his gift. She could not bear to witness her betrothed's sorrow with her own two eyes; her palm could feel every sore beat that pumped blood through his body, each one both more rapid and less vigorous than the last.

She could only imagine the awful thoughts ranging freely in his head, but her resolve strengthened at the dismal displays as well as her betrayed gaze. By the end of this night, she would draw all guilt from beneath his skull.

"My Prince Piberius, may I present you with a gift," A respectful voice called above the hall's din, and Judy found herself watching, with a hard glare with flames as orange as her fiancé's fur ranging beneath it, Marshal Certus rise from his seat and approach the open floor before the both of them.

In one of his paws he held the poisoned bottle, in the other his own chalice of wine, and as he hastily approached with his tail swishing back and forth merrily the rabbits and foxes seated around her and the Prince cut their words short to watch him with interest.

"I bring to you an undisturbed bottle of my finest Beardeaux wine, fresh from my cabinet and bursting with flavor," The Marshal elaborated, bending to one knee in front of Nicholas with his paws holding the neatly tied bottle up towards him. Nicholas leaned over the table, a paw against his tight white doublet so he would not dirty it with his untouched meal, to accept the gift, holding the glass object in both his paws and looking over it before he sent the fox a weak nod.

"Thank you," He mildly spoke, his voice quiet and the calm grimace upon his face through the speeches widening ever so slightly, despite his noticeably damp vision and pounding heart. Judy felt the soft tip of his tail on her elbow beneath the table, a silent plead for her to carry the torch of the conversation, and a zealous smile became chiseled into her muzzle at he request.

"Let us drink to commemorate this gift," She enthusiastically suggested, raising her relatively full golden chalice into the air as she simultaneously lifted herself from her padded seat, her vehement eyes locked with the Marshal's. Though across the hall she vaguely noted Dhani's guards stand, paws on their swords' handles as they meandered towards the doors.

"A splendid idea, my Princess Hopps!" The Marshal agreeably praised, his tanish-cream ears straightening at the idea, and a small amount of energy passed into his expression as his gaze shifted towards Nicholas and the wine bottle he held. "Pour yourself a drink, my Prince Piberius!"

"I'm afraid there is already a spot of wine in his cup, my Marshal, but I can guarantee once it is depleted he will wash himself away with this tasty red!" She merrily reassured, flicking her head towards the bottle of wine, and her blood broiled as the Marshal smiled back, raising his glass in accordance with hers.

The King and Emperor, who had been listening to the exchange, brought their cups above their crowns, too, with Nicholas the last to raise his chalice, the least steady or confident of the bunch,.

"To you, my Marshal," She confidently toasted, feigning a drink of her red wine as she witnessed with a fiery lens Marshal Certus grin back at her before kicking back his cup.

"I must admit, my Marshal, you are one intuitive..." She honestly commented, her voice filled with unrestricted spite, and the Marshal perked his ears at her tone, yet she waited until he and the others downing their portions had drunken half their cups before she finished, eyes alight with rage, muscles tense, and teeth bared viciously. "TRAITOR!"

That sole word was the signal Dhani and Fenus had been waiting for. In a matter of moments Dhani's pawful of guards had barred the hall's door shut and disarmed the few palace soldiers inside, taking their weapons with ease as they drew their curved swords. Ambassador Dhani himself and Marshal Fenus flashed up to Marshal Certus's sides, drawing their concealed daggers as they blocked his routes of retreat.

The Bengal fox himself nearly choked on his drink as Dhani's guards closed in around him, taking him by the arms, as did her father, the Prince, the Emperor, and virtually every other mammal present, most shooting to their feet and knocking their dishes onto the stone floor.

A sensation akin to a cat glancing over its cornered quarry arose inside Judy, and with a victorious yet furious grin that only a master poet could put into words she jumped onto the table, placing her feet between the silver dishes as she towered over the Marshal.

"My lords and Sers, foxes and rabbits alike, do not fear for your lives, for I have no intent to harm you on this night," She strongly began, her burning yet contained gaze surveying the distraught benches of mammals as she pointed a harsh paw at the Marshal. "This vile fox has deceived you all, and I intend to prove it."

"Judith, what is this?" King Hopps demanded, almost growling, his expression irate as he stared up at her as though she had just murdered a mammal, the golden goblet in his paw mere moments prior laying on the floor, spilled. She was not the least part intimidated by his fuming stare, and she let him know that through the tone of her voice and the rigidness in her body.

"This is an exoneration of all guilt from my honorable Prince Wilde, through a confession of wrongdoing on Marshal Certus's part," She answered, keeping her decided gaze locked with her father's despite the shocked gasps and numerous cries that she had gone mad.

"My Emperor, you must halt Princess Hopps's paw!" Marshal Certus pleadingly burst out, forcing his unrealistically startled and distraught face towards his sovereign, who stared at him deathly seriously from the other side of the table, even as the guards holding him in place brought their blades towards his throat and chest. "I do not know what she speaks of! This is the unjust trial of a guiltless mammal."

"He is right, my Princess Hopps," Emperor Canus stoically agreed, sending her stern gaze a slight, calm nod as he began to cautiously pace towards her, paws extended outwards diplomatically. "If you believe he has committed a crime, then there are official channels that-"

"I trust none of the judges or courts, for I do not know if his paw has held sway over their judgements," She crossly countered, darting down to her plate to grab her sharp vegetable knife and pointing it threateningly at the Emperor, who she noticed was approaching her far too closely for comfort, much to the disease of Nicholas, still seated between them.

"If you grant me this time, then I will present my case and evidence, and you, for yourself, can decide whether I am mad or not," She orderly spoke, lowering her knife to her side and easing her muscles, attempting to draw the tension from the air that was bubbling like a boiling pot ready to overflow. The Emperor returned an agreeable nod, no fury, rather wary fascination, present on his brow as he returned to his seat. She could not say the same about her father, who begrudgingly plopped down, clenched fists resting on his knees and his ears folded in unconcealed indignation.

"Now, then," Judy formally began, clearing her throat as she gazed out across the hundreds of heads staring at her like lighthouses that hesitantly returned to sit again. "I have gathered information over these past days that leads me to believe Marshal Certus has been altering the ways in which Prince Wilde acts through careful dosages of a dangerous herb mixed into presents of wine."

"A wild claim, without any merit!" Marshal Certus innocently disagreed, his demeanor more collected than before as his gaze swept over the members of the high table, yet Judy could sense his wild mood changes were an act to try and raise support amongst the regal mammals.

"Untrue," She frustratedly countered, flicking her ear in annoyance as she motioned for Marshal Fenus and Ambassador Dhani to sheath their daggers and approach the table. "I have several objects that your highnesses would very much like to see."

"This is a document recording all the excursions of Marshal Certus since his arrival at the palace, recounted by his private courtier, who shall remain unnamed," She curtly explained, holding the scroll of paper Dhani passed her from under his long skirt in her left paw, for all to see. "If one is to read this, they shall find that he visited a wide range of establishments, at one of which he purchased two species of flowers with the intent of harming the Prince using their poisons."

"And have you, with your own eyes, encountered the unsavory fiends he allegedly bought these flowers from?" King Hopps gruffly grumbled, one of his eyebrows raising along with his paw, and Judy passed him the scroll while shaking her head, much to his disappointment.

"To my regret, I have not - though I've had the flowers he purchased identified," She hastily added, holding up the small metal box Marshal Fenus had raised towards her for all the mammals in the hall to see before she unhooked its lid with her thumbs. "May I present the Day Whiner and Night Howler. When combined in spirit or water, they cause its consumer - in this case, my dearest Nicholas - to grow short-tempered and unaware of his aggression. When taken in great enough amounts enragement ensues, which is the root cause for the Prince's assault against me."

A paw reached feebly up from her left her once she finished, and she surrendered the small metal box to Nicholas, who stared at the brilliantly blue and red flowers inside with his emeralds the size of saucers.

"If you require my findings be checked and confirmed, I can contact the palace physician and Marshal Certus's courtier," She continued without hesitation, her paws lowering to clutch together behind her tight white dress as her gaze darted between the silent yet intrigued Emperor Canus, then the still crowd before her, and finally to her father, who was reading over the scroll with a studious frown. A motionless silence was all that met her offer, and she turned her frostbitten, stone gaze to Marshal Certus while her paws rung her wrists beneath her gold-laced cuffs.

"Marshal Certus, you will provide the realm a confession which coincides with the evidence I have presented," She hotly commanded, ordering Dhani's guards to release him and sheath their swords with a horizontal whisk of her paw. As soon as the armored grips retreated from their hold on him the Marshal straightened himself, a wave of coolness passing over his shaken expression as he flattened his doublet with both paws and perked his tail.

"It appears to me as though you cannot come to terms with the Prince over his attempt on your life," He dryly commented, a both insulting yet guiltless grimace painted on his muzzle, but Judy merely twitched her nose at his direct attack and watched tensely as his paws fell behind his back and as his chest puffed victoriously, as though he had already bested her. "How do you expect to draw a confession from me for a crime that I have not had the slightest thought of perpetrating?"

"Because if you refuse to provide the entire truth of your actions, then I will fail to provide you with the anecdote to the poison that Marshal Fenus has laced your drink with," She casually retorted, a sly grin emerging onto her face as gasps and cries of horror rose up throughout the hall, but the reaction of the Marshal was what truly brought comfort to her heart. He blinked in confusion, his eyes falling to the spilled cup of wine at his feet that was drooling across the stone brick floor and seeping into its cracks.

Not he, nor any of the other mammals in the room, had expected her to perpetrate a crime so traitorous. Neither did she - nor had she - not by her paws, nor the Ambassador's, nor Marshal Fenus's. But Certus did not have to know that...

"Poison?" The Bengal fox repeated, stunned, and as Judy nodded in confirmation every ounce of light drained from his gaze, leaving fear and apprehension in its wake.

"You are bluffing," He uncertainly called, his tail twitching back and forth as a nervous grin took hold of his panicked face, but Judy met him with a raised eyebrow and a straight back, refusing to back down even a hair's width.

"Is that a chance you are willing to risk?" She inquisitively queried, her cheeks flaring marginally more as the Marshal's ears and tail went as limp as a sheet. "And, please, do answer quickly, for I am unsure how long it will take before the poison begins to take hold of you."

The doubtful grin on the Marshal's face decayed like a rotting piece of fruit, his foot tapping against the floor steadily until it's pace was as quick as her own escalated heartbeat. He had no choice but to succumb to the pressure; she could see it rooted deeply in his terror, and after some of the longest seconds of her life her prediction became reality.

"Arrrrgh!" He irately growled, his tone wary before it gradually rose to a full-blooded snarl, and he snapped his head backwards then forwards to reveal to her his pearly white fangs and a seething gaze. His entire flaming aura had shifted immensely in a mere instant, and judging by the disturbed and grim faces of her father and father-in-law she had not been the only one to notice the drastic change.

"I poisoned Prince Piberius on my own accord, it is true," He wretchedly confirmed with a snarl, and the room became as motionless as a sleeping mouse's whisker at his revelation as Judy unforgivingly reviewed every word that escaped past his bared teeth, a minute feeling of victory rising in her chest as her claims became raw fact. "I mixed those flowers into drinks, which I delivered unto him in the most crucial moments of decision."

"That I have already mentioned," Judy authoritatively rebuked, watching as the Marshal's terrified tail began to swing back and forth, erratically and impatiently. "And the clock ticks. Reveal to the realm the full extent of your nefarious plot."

"Through assassins in the Empire I acquired the flowers, and with the reluctant aid of my courtier I added their petals to whatever liquid I deemed appropriate for the Prince to drink," He hastily elaborated, his frown turning both a shade redder and dimmer as his rushed words began to slur. "At first it was in the smallest of amounts, as so I could witness its effects, until my impatience overcame me. That is when his attitude changed, when his temper became as short as a grape's stem, and when he was most malleable to my paws."

"I knew if I could convince him spending time and energy on you was a waste, and that the only true way to peace was through a nigh-religious dedication to the ideal, then I could spur you to confront him about his uncaring attitude," He reluctantly pushed on, his expression a mix of fury at having to confess and sheer fear for his life. "I made your arranged marriage meaningless to him, until you two marked one another like savages before society!"

"What motives drove you to spur Nicholas to attack me?" She firmly questioned, crossing her arms over her chest and suppressing a shudder at the answers that her ears could be forced to hear, but suspicious interest momentarily surpassed her fury and disgust.

"I did what I had to to drive the both of you apart," He deeply growled, his dark eyes lowering to stare up at her from a harsher angle.

"Why?" She bleakly pursued, her heart thumping away like a rabbit's foot.

"Look at the two foxes seated to your left, Princess, and you will see the reason for my acts!" The Marshal climactically roared, his snarling muzzle surging forward and his barren, spiteful amber eyes darting between the Emperor's sullen glare and Nicholas's stark stare.

"These usurpers have stolen the throne that has been held in the careful paws of the Electors for nigh over a half eon!" He tenaciously hissed, spinning over his shoulder so he faced the budding hostility in the hall head-on, a claw raised towards the two foxes he ranted over. "And for what purpose? To secure peace? You think me like one of the speciesist foxes in Badan, who wishes for the extinction of rabbitkind, but I reveal to you that I am not against you or your sons, rather these two imposters sitting on the throne of my species!"

"That is why I made you all despise Nicholas the Wild for assaulting his bride-to-be; so that he'd tear your courts in two and ruin any chances of a personal union forming between our 'dynasties'!" He fired, voice and gaze inflamed as he whirled back towards Judy, storming towards the table at her feet as Dhani's guards rushed to restrain him. "Is that an acceptable confession for you, Princess Hopps, or would you fancy to see me blabber until my dying breath?!"

For a few seconds Judy could scarcely believe what she had just been told, and she spent the moments with her mouth barely opened in dead silence, along with virtually every other mammal around her. Certus's hate was not rooted in species, like she had been led to believe, but with Nicholas and Canus themselves. He held the very same ideology of equality as she did, but went about it in far more drastic ways - ways that led to a personal hatred of her future husband and father in law. It suddenly occurred to her that such an abhorrence was far more dangerous than any broad disdain.

With a cheerless nod to Marshal Fenus she snapped her mouth shut and returned to the apoplectic world around her, her vision rolling over Marshal Certus's brutally vicious glare as the Marshal picked up the poisoned wine bottle resting at her feet.

"Before the feast I had your courtier switch your 'gift' to Prince Wilde with another bottle," She dourly revealed with a flick of her ear towards the case in the Marshal's paws, and Marshal Certus glanced towards the brew with an exasperated, disbelieving twinge in his frown. "Mixed inside is the anecdote to the poison in your veins. It is yours."

Dhani's guards stepped away and let their grips fall from Marshal Certus as Marshal Fenus held the bottle out to him with both paws. The Bengal fox let loose a defeated, embittered growl as he snatched the glass container away from Fenus, popping the cork off its lid with a claw before he kicked it back and downed gulp after gulp.

Judy intensely watched the red liquid inside the bottle drain down his throat until there was only a sliver left at its shallow punt, barely enough for a single sip, and as he pulled his lips away from its neck deep gasps erupted from his lungs.

While he caught his breath Judy jumped down from the table, resting her rear in her chair and drawing the half-bewildered half-amazed gaze of King Hopps towards her. She glanced at his wide face with an austere frown, her eyes not leaving the Marshal unmonitored for more than a second. The malicious fox's breaths gradually eased to normal, the emptied wine bottle hanging limply from one of his paws as he stood with his eyes closed and a calming expression on his brow.

All that changed as his eyes flickered to life, filled to the brim with blatantly fabricated regret as an apologetic grin emerged onto his muzzle.

"Now, my famed Emperor, you will excuse my rude outburst that has taken place over these past few minutes," He casually suggested, a contrite chuckle rising up from beneath his doublet as he placed the empty bottle of wine at his feet, but the sober, frowning fox, nor any other mammal in the hall, joined in his laughter. "My fury arose at the claws of the poison Princess Hopps bequeathed me. Surely you will forgive an innocent, loyal fox such as myself.

"How can I, when you yourself have confessed to such nefarious crimes and the Princess has presented such convincing evidence against you?" The Emperor soberly retorted, his ears stiff against his skull, and he rose from his chair with a commanding claw pointed at Ambassador Dhani and his soldiers. "You. Unbar the door, and allow the palace guards passage. Inform them of what has transpired here, and tell them Marshal Certus has become an enemy of the throne."

"What?" The Marshal frantically exclaimed, his compunctious gaze all but routed as disbelief and dissent returned, and he took a step towards the Emperor with his claws flexed while Dhani obeyed his order. "My liege, surely you cannot believe the lies this venomous wench has spat out? I was poisoned by her and her accomplice's paws!"

"Then it is strange you would blame your fury on me, when the only 'poison' I spiked your drink with was water," Judy nonchalantly mentioned, leveraging her winning hand with a tiny, triumphant grimace on her muzzle. Once again she found her eyes being burned with Certus's dumbfounded stare, although this time she felt the awed gazes of the members of the head table hot on her face too.

"You're lying," He deftly proclaimed, a frighteningly toothy grin pulling back his lips, but Judy shook her head and motioned with a nod at Marshal Fenus to reveal the vile hidden under his tunic.

The short fox raised the glass phial for all to see, the colorless, odorless liquid inside only filling the bottle halfway. He loosened its metal cap and passed it to Marshal Certus, who snatched it away from him and held it up to his twitching nose, sniffing intently with a frown.

He let loose an infuriated growl as he hurled the vial across the room, the glass object smashing against the far wall as the water inside soaked the hanging tapestry. His snarling, brutal face whirled back to scour her face relentlessly, his pupils becoming thin slits as the wine began to take effect.

"You deceived me!" He wildly hissed, savage sounds escaping past his lips, but Judy remained steadfast and strong in her condemning stare.

"Guards, arrest this mammal," She unflinchingly ordered the Palace Guards, orderly standing in the hall's open entryway with their colorful faces poking through their helms like steel weapons in moonlight.

"I was mere hairs from success, but you had to be the snooping dame, didn't you," Marshal Certus violently sneered, his claws digging into his skull as his eyes squeezed shut, but in a matter of moments he was staring up at her with raw murder rooted on his face and his body tensed. "If not for your prying paws the throne of foxkind would belong to its rightful owners. Your affection has blinded you to that - allow me to now tear your eyes open!"

Marshal Certus shot like a bold or lightning to the foot of the high table on all fours, catapulting himself over the dishes with his claws digging into the wooden tabletop and his jaws lunging for her face. He was more beast than being, and in the split second she had to react Judy tried to back away only to find her chair's leg had caught on a brick before she fought to raise an arm between her and his serrated jaw, the part of her that would take the brunt of his blitz.

His maw wrapped around her wrist like a squeezing cuff, his teeth indenting into her skin as she prepared her body as much as she was able for scream-worthy bolts of pain to shoot through her forearm and blood to pour down onto the tablecloth below like the biblical flood. In the instant before the slightest of punctures ripped through her gown a fist so forceful and sound came rocketing like thunder from her right, and it knocked Marshal Certus, along with several of his teeth, from her arm.

The Bengal fox went flying down the table, taking with him virtually everything on it, sparing not even a single dish or utensil, before he collided into the far wall with a painful thud.

He collapsed to the ground as limp as a worm, his chest rising and falling steadily and his savagery now little more than a tiny frown upon his unconscious, dirty face that was marked with bruises and scratches.

All at once the hall's heads spun towards the mammal who had cut short his attack, Judy's being the first, fastest, and by far the most thankful, but joyous surprise rose in her core as the brilliantly orange fur and dazzling emerald eyes of her betrothed greeted her.

His guilt-ridden, silent attitude that he had begun the evening with and that tortured her so was no more. In its stead was a staunch, respectful, yet thoughtful, aura that radiated out from him like the finest mortal Prince on the earth; the very mammal she had been greeted by on the loneliest night of her youth, minus the sarcasm and suaveness, of course. His torso was straight and puffed, his muscles tense, and his sober stare locked with Marshal Certus's form.

But as his eyes softened and turned down to meet hers full blown fury rose in her chest, free of any weight that social norms deemed necessary in order to restrict it. All the fire directed at Certus suddenly fumed towards every other mammal in the room, and as she slammed her paws against the table and stared out over the speechless hall with her teeth bared she did not hesitate to let them see that.

* * *

Nicholas had spent the duration of the confession with his ears straightened to the point of soreness, rarely turning his gaze off of the Marshal, let alone moving from his seat. Time flew as quickly as a roaring river yet as slow as a sloth, his outlook on himself and his betrothed challenged in every passing instant.

Doubt first clouded his vision as he stared down at the encased flowers Judith had found, their red and blue petals inviting him to stroke their softness, but he wearily refrained as his fraught conscience withdrew deep into his memories to follow their eerily familiar scent.

The Marshal's confession itself and the Princess's thorough presentation of all the malice she had uncovered in his character only fogged his thoughts further, his emotions ravaged by two clashing forces furiously fighting for dominance.

One was the voice that occupied his form now, that he was the cause for all Judith's suffering and deserved an equal retribution for such tortures he inflicted, with the other the polar opposite, screaming he was just as much a victim as Judith at the traitorous blades of the Marshal's schemes.

He feebly cracked open his mouth, failing to utter even the slightest of words as his betrothed bombarded Certus with question after question, his voice stolen away and his erratic heartbeats bouncing around his rib cage as if a stray bolt. Yet as the full front of the Marshal's soulless fury veered into him and the Emperor, with his hateful amber eyes revealing the truth of his soul, his jaw snapped shut and the uncertainty flowing through his veins like his very blood began to drain.

He could feel his limp body stiffening as the Marshal poured the bottle of his wine into his gut like he had been stranded in the desert for forty nights. His ever hardening gaze darted to rest on the side of Judith's face, knowing full well that there had never been any poison in his drink. It was not in her character to do something so vile; but trickery and slight of paw was, as he had learned firstpaw.

The war-worn combatants battling beneath his skull took a brief pause while he witnessed the painfully familiar transformation of the Marshal from collected to crazed, releasing the day he had assaulted Judith he had felt and acted much the same. He regretfully knew what the Bengal Fox was feeling; annoyance escalating into discontent, then a short temper, then anger, and culminating with irate vexation, mixed with a thirst for violence.

Yet the Marshal went beyond his limit on that awful day, his eyes turning into black slits in seas of yellow as he lost all control over his actions, only able to vent his murderous snarl at the Princess.

In the same instant he leapt for her, claws extended like a wild animal, Nick shot to his flexed feet, the clashing voices in his head permanently muted and the sun breaking through his eyes like a beam sent from heaven itself.

His heart roared for this rabbit - if his emotional distress was putting her safety in danger, then he would don his armor and charge to her side.

He was both victim and criminal. He could see that truth as clear as daylight, now; unable to stop a villain from using him as a weapon to hurt those closest to his breast. That did not grant him permission to stand idly by now. Never again would he be so blind. Not in this life, nor the next.

With a punch so mighty only after the numbness in his fist had subsided did he realize his knuckles were purple and blue he sent the Marshal soaring along the table, his body colliding like a trebuchet's stone with everything in his unfortunate path until he rammed into the stone wall, taking down a tapestry in the process.

Swathes of raw resolve flooded his eyes and expression as he monitored the limp mass of tan and grey awkwardly sprawled on the floor, and only after he was certain the fox would not rise again was he secure enough to let his guard down. His spirits raised as his thankful, apologetic, regretful gaze darted to Judith's surprised and awed stare, but the restful ascension only lasted for an instant before his strained heart began to speed up and his tail swayed back and forth worriedly.

"Imbeciles!" Judith roared, slamming her paws into the table and shaking the cutlery and dishes that the Marshal hadn't taken with him. Her fiery eyes raked the abashed and soundless hall like a wildfire consuming a hamlet, her fury unconcealed, and Nick found himself unable to do anything aside from listen to her tumultuous tirade, startled and disturbed at her vehemence.

"The future of our kingdoms acts entirely out of character for days on end, but none suspect something is aloof until he goes so far to violate your 'high as God' code of honor!" She punishingly insulted, her short claws pulling at the tables' ruffled cloth as her teeth ground in a snarl and as her red ears folded behind her head, only adding to the stunned silence of the crowd. "You hypocritically blame his shameful attack on, not what suspicious mammals sit around him, but rather on what his heart pumps through his veins - only because it is far easier to stare at lessons past than it is to bear witness to the trouble present! Well I will tell you all, Nicholas P Wilde the Merciful Prince is far more honorable than the whole lot of you liars and fiends combined, and it saddens me to witness your perfect visions be so blind to the darkness surrounding you when mine, a female's, have known something was amiss since the very start!"

A sound that resembled an infuriated Ugh! was the final noise the Princess made before she stormed away down the table, not hesitating to send the hall a final wounding scowl, her paws clenched into fists that hung weighted like anvils at her sides and her heavy paces more similar to quickened stomps than steps.

It wasn't until she was forcing a hole through the squadron of bewildered palace guards crowding the entryway that Nick took off in her footsteps.

"Judith!" He meaningfully called out across the hall, his voice echoing out into the night sky as he darted after her, tail and ears as rigid as sticks, but her silhouette managed to fade into the blackness beyond the hall's warm lights before he had even rounded Lord Lucas.

"Judith, please, wait!" He pleadingly reiterated, plunging through the gap she had made in the guards to stand flustered at the doorway's top step with his frantic gaze whirling up and down the gravel path.

It was her light-colored dress that his keen night vision caught wind of, flapping madly in the clammy, damp air as she rushed around an unseen corner and plunged into the palace's interior. With a desperate huff he sprinted towards the door she had forcefully slammed in her wake, the low murmur from the packed hall rising in the air behind him barely registering in his ears.

To see the mammal he loved so canvased red was unsettling to the brink of panic, but what made it all the more replete was the timing of it all. With all that had just transpired, for better or for worse, they needed to talk; or at the very least she needed to listen.

All was as silent as a cloister's dormitory as he pushed open the heavy pine doors that led into the bowels of the palace, his light footsteps echoing eerily through the deserted hallways and rooms and the still moonlight coating everything in a ghostly pale glow as it descended earthwards.

The only trace of his betrothed was a vague hint of her scent - or more correctly, his scent - that hung in the air like a passing mist. His attentive nose began to vibrate madly as he sniffed out her path, carefully making his way around pieces of furniture and through entirely darkened passages with his twitching device held low, his palm pressing against the wall to steady his pace.

"Judy?" He called out, peering around the corner of an especially black hall, no windows blessing its cold floor with light. At the far end was the throne room, the stone thrones upon its brick altar reduced to a mass of fuzzy grey, its gate-like doors having been burst open hastily, yet no evidence of life echoed from it.

With cautious and quick steps Nick approached the scene, all his senses finely attuned as the smell of the Princess grew fresher and fresher, although it was not until he passed through the shadows of the room's tall doors that he was blessed with her sight once more.

His mouth opened as he searched his vocabulary for the exact words needed to calm her tumultuous spirit to the point of coolness, but as the silence hung heavy and the seconds passed like heartbeats he slowly closed his jaw, his gaze studying her tight, staunch stance as whatever fretful thoughts that stirred beneath his skull gradually stilled, dew droplets on a winter's night.

In the whitewashed glow she appeared like an incarnation of Venus herself. A stern frown embedded into her brow and her body still ripe with unease, her arms folded over her steadily rising and falling chest, her brilliant amethyst eyes staring enveloped at the decorative tapestries hung around the room she leaned against a stone column, her body dead in the rays of moonlight that descended from the room's paramount windows.

There was a universe of actions Nick could imagine taking in this serene island placed in the midst of a sea of turmoil, but none was more appropriate than to merely meander to stand the column opposite her, staring up at the stained glass windows, studying their fine details for a lifetime before his gaze descended to rest idly on the thrones.

"It's strange to see a place so familiar with vitality be so... Dead," He mellowly mentioned, readjusting his crossed arms as he suppressed a chilling shudder, his gaze shifting to the steps at the feet of the wide seats. "So very... different."

"Most things are, when darkness obscures them," Judith tartly retorted, her eyes darting in his direction for a split second while her left ear flicked in annoyance.

Nick didn't feel the slightest part affronted by her bitter remark, his wide pupils surveying the room's expansive floor as he instructed himself to wait out until she had calmed herself, allowing the storms beneath her skull to pass.

The silent moments turned into seconds, then minutes, and finally ages before Judith made her presence known again. An upset scoff was the noise that shattered the status quo, and Nick's head pivoted towards her to watch as she tautly shook her head and pushed herself away from the column she rest against, her feet indecisively leading her into the room's empty floor in the vague direction of the thrones.

"They are insufferable, the whole lot of them," She bluntly caviled, her fiery purple eyes and stiff, pink ears facing the floor as she paced in a wide crescent. "Even my own father. I can hardly stand his sight."

"You punish them too extravagantly, Carrots," Nick softly chided, a tiny, almost invisible smile on his lips as he steadily walked out to join her on the floor, his feet tracing the other half of her incomplete circular path. "They are fair mammals, with righteous hearts, and thanks to your investigative paws both them and I have seen the truth behind Marshal Certus."

"How do you manage a level head as you speak of them when they were the mammals that guilted and blamed you to the point of torture?" She frustratedly questioned, visibly irked by his coolness, and her flickering gaze finally turned to meet his as her steps ended dead in their tracks, her paws falling to her sides.

"Because I can forgive; they blamed my actions on my father's blood that pulses through me, and though I am far from his subtle evil I still have committed many wrongdoings," He nonchalantly explained, a flicker of guilty dolor in his gaze, but it was nowhere near as overwhelming as it had been earlier. "I lost myself in my anguish, but now that I have found myself with your guiding paw I can look forward again, though not without remembering my mistakes. They too will one day pass, even if it may take a lifetime."

"All of this is the fault of that damned flower and that damned fox!" Judith pointedly growled, her head whirling towards a tapestry that held the flora within a glowing ring, her eyes returning a red glare. "If not for his schemes then our lives would be paradise! The realm would be safer without him, and you'd be far less guilt ridden!"

"You make it sound as though it is a hinderance for me to feel remorse for what I put you through," Nick sulkily remarked, his tail falling between his legs as the white light that radiated from the Princess dimmed. His entire attitude had changed instantaneously, his burning chest made dejected and worthless by his betrothed's stinging words that not even her alerted and ruffled expression could change.

"Nick, that's not what I-" She mindfully started, the fire in her eyes reduced to steam as she stared up at him, her feet whisking across the floor so she stood within arm's reach of him, and she took his paws into her own tightly.

"Judith, let us not beat around the bush and cherry pick what we will recount from these twisted weeks," Nick morosely interjected, not allowing her to finish, and as he spoke he watched through a coating of wetness in his eyes how the Princess's expression gradually transformed to match his own, teary gaze included. "Marshal Certus deceived me into thinking he was an ally, that it was not possible for anyone to go against the Imperial Court, and I paid dearly for my trust in him. I attacked you without the vaguest thought that, maybe, something was askew, I treated you worse than a Cowcutta master would treat his slave and I believed it was the right thing to do. My regret wouldn't be different had I not been under the Night Howler's claws, but I would've been able to stop this before it became out of paw. You are the one who halted Marshal Certus, Judith, when not a soul believed you, and you aided me when all others had long since abandoned, including myself. I cannot express how much gratitude I have for that, and from the bottom of my wretched soul I'm sorry for all I've put you and this kingdom through."

"Nicholas, my sweet fox, you know I've forgiven you," Judith emotionally breathed, her quaky breaths rocking her small form as the two shaken amethysts staring up at him snapped shut, and her arms wrapped up his shoulder blades as she took him in a touching, unsteady embrace. He squeezed her back with an equal amount of affection, remaining as silent as a dormouse as he pressed the bottom of his snout against the top of her head, his thumping heart straining his ribs as she pressed back, the claw marks on her cheek rolling over a bruise on his chest.

"It feels as though a decade has passed in the short time we've been destined to marry," She stressfully reflected, her troubled eyes blinking open, shining melancholically in the moonlight as she raised onto her toes in an attempt to bring her face closer to his. "There has hardly been a night that I have awoken from with a clear conscience and a well rested gaze."

"To say our time together has been strenuous is an understatement," Nick dolefully agreed, lowering his muzzle to meet hers while his tail wrapped up the length of her back, and their whiskers intimately rubbed as their cheeks connected, bunching up against the other. "After this night there will scarcely be a soul in the palace. If unity may rear its head again, then we should join the Lords in departure."

"The Emperor's mountain estate still ripples in my mind," Judith propitiously hinted, a jovial grin forming on her muzzle as their noses touched.

"Then to there we will make haste, at the soonest convenience," Nick wholeheartedly promised, grimacing back at his fiancé. "But first let us return to the feast. If we are to enjoy ourselves along the shores of the mountain lakes, my father must grant us access."

"I fear I may have already ruined our chances of that happening," Judith moped in a downtrodden tone, her ears falling to rest atop his paws, but Nick coaxed them upwards again with a sensitive stroke of his velvety Palm.

"Nonsense!" He wryly exclaimed, ending their embrace as he pulled away to lock elbows with her, their fingers intertwining like master patchwork as his grimace turned a shade more humorous. "You were not _too_ scathing!"

"Very funny," She seriously admitted, annoyance in her eyes as she jabbed his gut with a stiff paw, and a pained yet lighthearted grunt escaped past his lips as the two of them unhurriedly trotted across the room's wide space side by side.

The cool, unstirred air enveloped them like pond water as they stepped outside, the grey clouds that had obscured the sky earlier in the evening having routed behind the hills, allowing the moon to coat the world white. Neither of them dared to disturb the calmness in every sight that beset them, their steady steps guiding them towards the now closed doors that led into the Feast Hall. Only the occasional whisper echoed from behind the thick pine objects, not even the Palace Guards standing attentive at their sides.

The steps leading up to the entryway were some of the steepest Nick had ever made, his speedy breaths and flying heartbeat not adding to his ease. But he could hear and feel the same anxious pace through his hold with Judith's paw, and though it made him somewhat unnerved it also reassured that no longer was he alone with his struggles. With a final, decided glance into her ready purple gaze they pushed open the doors.

Three hundred pairs of eyes met them. Every mammal in the room, from Lord Lucas at the end of the High Table to the Palace Guards lined up against the hall's far wall, had cut whatever conversations they had been invested in short so they could stare at the both of them solemnly. The only two who did not follow that formula were Marshal Fenus and Ambassador Dhani, whose calm expressions looked over them in a proud manner from the area before his and Judith's seats.

All the mess that arose at Marshal Certus's confession had been cleared, the spilled drinks and broken plates swept up and the Bengal Fox himself no longer sprawled awkwardly against the wall, undoubtedly now resting somewhere in the dungeons.

The paramount King and Emperor were standing from their seats, having stolen the room's attention during their absence, but neither appeared quite ready to return to their chairs until they had addressed the elephant in the room.

"Princess Hopps and Prince Wilde, the two of you share something once thought heretically unnatural," King Hopps empathetically fired, his booming voice clearly improvising his speech as it played out, and Nick could only listen to his words in utterly stunned silence. "But you have shown us on this night that a dedication to your partner can exist regardless of species."

"My Princess, you have levied to us on this night the truths we could not ourselves bare to witness," Emperor Canus praised, his soft eyes filled with genuine gratitude as a thankful smile embed itself onto his muzzle, and Nick caught sight of Judith's mouth beginning to gape in shock. "And my Prince, we have treated you unfairly to the highest degrees. For this, we are eternally regretful, and for you, my Princess, eternally grateful."

"The both of you have executed miracles innumerable for the futures of our kinds, and you still have yet to take the throne of our united kingdom! For whatever storm is to come tomorrow I have no doubt you will weather it," King Hopps proudly proclaimed, an honorable expression akin to his foxy counterparts' painted on his face as he lowered to one knee, his eyes closing shut as he bowed his head. "I pledge my life, in this world and the next, to your future rule."

"As do I," The Emperor agreed, following the King onto a knee with a final, admiring glance at the two of them.

"And I," Ambassador Dhani chimed in, bowing with his ears low and a smile on his muzzle.

"I suppose I do, In addition," Marshal Fenus wittily conceded, kneeling besides his tan colleague as his tail curled around his feet.

Like a tidal wave pledges rang throughout the Hall, each voice honest and strong in its reassurance, and Nick stood dumbfounded and bewildered by the suddenly vehement loyalty of the mammals who had viewed him as a savage mere hours earlier.

With sparks of amazement budding from his eyes he turned to stare at his betrothed, who appeared equally as touched by the show of support as he was, but as her eyes turned up to meet his her gaping mouth snapped into a tearful grin. He beamed back at her thankfully, squeezing her paw in a silent act of love as he stared into her purple depths, allowing them to cleanse his spirit.

The Marshal was behind bars, his plot exposed, a harsh investigation of his associates visible on the horizon, the Princes who had so dishonorably attempted to take his life severely reprimanded, and their courts and families more united than any time before. Finally they were free from the weight of violence and spies. Finally they could begin their fairytale romance, with him her fox in shining armor and her his brilliant rabbit.

* * *

The instant the tavern's door snapped shut, taking with it most of the room's warm air, the two foxes threw their hoods back over their faces and turned back to one another, their muzzles low and ears high.

"Remind me to buy every drink your heart yearns for for the remainder of our lives, Pestis!" The arctic fox thankfully exclaimed, raising his chalice of dark liquor before he kicked back and downed what little remained. "That was a truly remarkable and crafty performance!"

"It's only acting," The pale fox unenthusiasticly replied with a shrug, taking only a meager sip from his own cup. "Why bother destroying a city with engines when an unseen plague can slip amongst its populace?"

"Because I'd much rather slaughter its starving inhabitants with my own two paws," The arctic fox countered, a disturbed grin on his muzzle as he wiped away the numerous beads of sweat making his white facial fur sparkle with his forearm. "But, I shall admit your ploy has worked brilliantly."

"Yet it leaves us in a serious predicament, my good Halosis," The pale fox grunted, rubbing the bottom of his chin as he intently studied the candle's flickering flame mere inches from the end of his snout. "If that was Princess Hopps-"

"Which is evident, given her poorly concealed marking stink and blatantly regal manner," The Arctic fox piped in, anxiety cautiously reentering his icy oceanic gaze.

"-then she has caught scent of our benefactors's plot, and will undoubtedly attempt to disrupt him at every turn," The pale fox finished, his ashen eyes darting upwards to lock with his counterpart's. The Arctic fox said nothing in return, taking a few moments to nervously bite at his lip with his sharp fangs, drawing specs of red blood against his white fur as his claws dug into his cup's metallic body.

"We must make haste to him at once, to warn him of the incoming storm!" He eventually hissed, a persistent yet threatened frown upon his brow as he leaned towards the flame, voice low, yet the pale fox shook his head steadily.

"If we are caught conversing with him; which is unavoidable, if the Princess and her associates are as resourceful as we have been led to believe, our sentences will be on par, if not greater, than his," The pale fox explained, his unceasing callousness still yet to change. "And I'd prefer to keep my head from rolling."

"So our time in his service is coming to an end?" The Arctic fox spurted out in disbelief, ears falling further into the darkness of his hood as his expression stiffened.

"For the moment, we will weather the storm," The pale fox devised with a final sip of his drink. "He has not the vaguest notion that we have inadvertently betrayed him, and as long as his gold continues to trickle into our pockets we will remain faithful. Yet to ensure our identities remain unknown must wish farewell to the city before Princess Hopps or any other unsavory figures approach us; it was by the hand of God we managed this, but rolling a die twice will never yield the same result."

"When do we depart for Wien?" The Arctic fox questioned, beginning to straighten his hunched form as the pale fox downed what liquor was left in his cup.

"Now," He grumbled in answer, shooting to his feet like a shadow against a bright wall. "And we shall prepare for the Marshal's failure."

"Then I'll ready my engines!" The arctic fox eagerly exclaimed like a giddy kit, rocketing upwards onto his feet with a great grin painted onto his muzzle.

* * *

 **Due to vacationing, I was unable to edit this chapter thoroughly. Grammar, themes, and vocabulary will change after the update on the first of October. Please leave criticism about what really pulls on your tail!**


	17. Chapter Fifteen

**What Happened? Where've you been? Is the story dead?**

 **I took a break.**

 **This past year and a half I've been pouring a fair majority of my free time into these stories, through other trips and projects, and for the most part I've barely been able to just... chill. So I have, and I'm back with a new drive and fresh ideas and (for the first time in a long while) a clear and coherent plot for the chapters ahead!**

 **This story, and** ** _Intrigue: A Zootopia Fanfiction,_** **the other story I am currently working on, will be updated at a convenient point for me.** **And** ** _NO_** **, this story is not dead. I promised that it would be finished, and indeed, it shall be.**

 **It's understandable if you'd like to stop reading here. I have not lived up to the expectations I drew for myself and have failed as a writer. I shall not let that occur again. Though my current track record certainly does not support this.**

 **Back to the story - this chapter marks the break between the first and second halves of the plot, and as such I had a rather troubling time figuring out what road to take, despite its inevitable destination. Anyways, I hope you enjoy what's been written, and what's to come!**

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Lord Trip was a gargantuan rabbit, easily tall enough to make a fox look small. His giant stature and deep green eyes, accompanied by a warm grin and loyal spirit, even made the Emperor himself appear unfaithful and unfit. Yet his physical gifts were nothing compared to his tongue, for in only the few weeks their species had been at peace he'd already forged many alliances in the Empire.

Nick felt as though he and Judith would soon join those burgeoning ranks, too. The lord stood straight and proud at the foot of the throne, behind him an orderly line of young-looking attendants each carrying a chest in his arms, not disheartened in the slightest by the fact he was the last lord to depart from the palace, since this seemingly granted him the special honor of presenting the both of them with an extraordinarily large gift.

The early morning light had flood into the throne room through the dozen stained glass panels lined along its walls, the palace stirring in the low hours of the day when the air was still cool and sun still low. One by one the lords had slipped escorted by their entourages before he and the Princess - aside from those who had conspired with Prince Lucas and Prince Gregory, who had yet to obtain permission from the King to depart yet. They begged for forgiveness, lamenting how they'd failed to take warning of any of his irregular changes of character or Marshal Certus's - that _malicious_ fox's - scheming. He and Judith always granted them what they pleaded for, the process becoming tedious after the first dozen lords, much to their praise.

Nick always maneuvered their comments away from him and solely onto his betrothed, who merely shrugged off the incessant praise of her detective skills with a polite smile. Nick smirked at her expression, alight with rosy red cheeks and subtly nervous twitches of her nose made somewhat overt by the gifted treasures piled at either side of the throne - a truly massive haul of goods that neither she nor the palace needed any more of. Silken clothes, armors, weapons, and outnumbering all coins by the boatful; innumerable valuables that Lord Trip's substantial donation would still hardly affect.

"My Prince Wilde and Princess Hopps, to say I am amazed you've kept your interest in these courtly processions since sunrise would be an understatement," The respectable lord courteously started, kneeling on his blue trousers as he rest his paw on his excitingly purple and gold-edged doublet, not-so-subtly flicking his ear for his attendants to approach the throne as he bowed his head. "To the two of you I pass my collection of jewels, mined from the hills beyond the world's edge. Take them as you wish, for by your faithful, watchful eyes - and not my critical gape - have you saved this peace once more."

"I must confess that it is the Princess's eyes alone that are attentive," Nick politely countered, glancing towards his fiance's clenched jaw with a warm grin and a wry gaze and briefly halting the attendant's march. "Mine have proved less than predatory in days recent."

"You underestimate your undeniably critical role in the apprehension of vile Certus, my Prince," Judith nonchalantly countered with a shrug and a long blink at Lord Trip, who remained visibly swayed by his concession yet conceded a polite nod to his benefactor. "Without your keenest senses I doubt I would still at your side as we speak."

"Every mammal, from servant to sovereign, may form their own opinions," Nick ceremoniously acknowledged with a raised eyebrow and hidden sarcasm, attempting once more to place his betrothed in the room's spotlight, and at his ploy her gaze hardened and she dug her short, blunt claws into his palm, concealed beneath his tail yet drawing a suppressed yelp from his lungs regardless, all without turning away from the more than perplexed, straight-eared rabbit at the throne's steps.

"Well, regardless, my riches pass into your paws," Trip casually finished, rising from his kneel and shaking the confusion from his expression with a slow toss of his head while ushering his servants forward once more with a wave of his paw. The young, finely dressed rabbits climbed the steps and took a knee before them, each in his own uninterrupted time, lifting open the lid of the long, exquisitely carved wooden chest he carried and revealing the hoard of glittering jewels held within.

Nick leaned forward as each buck presented them with another portion of their lord's gift, his entranced gaze finding it difficult to turn away from the sapphires, emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and countless other uncut pieces piled on top of one another like grains of sand.

"We bestow you with our most gracious thanks, Lord Trip," He kindly thanked with a long bow of his head, receiving one in kind as the last attendant placed his chest amongst the other gifts on either side of the throne. Out of the corner of his vision he caught sight of the dumbfounded yet thankful stare of Judith, connecting with Lord Trip's appreciative expression, albeit not without an added amount of warmth in her cheeks.

"Please, if you ever find your treks on unknown roads, then do not hesitate to call us to arms," She affably pleaded with a cordial bow, inciting Lord Trip's minute smirk to rise higher, and Nick sensed his own amusement budding as his betrothed dug herself deeper into subservience, her inexperience as a figurehead revealing itself all too plainly. "Your generosity is sincerely a sight to behold. We are at your service, my Lord, through whatever troubles may bite at your heels."

"I daresay that is something a lady of your stature should utter, my Princess Hopps, but if you insist..." Lord Trip cautiously joked, and Nick stiffed a cackle as his betrothed's ears fell like boulders to the bottom of a lake and eyes widened like purple moonlight in fog.

"Until our paths cross again, my Prince Wilde and Princess Hopps," Lord Trip merrily called out over his shoulder, a grin still entrenched into his muzzle, as he and his attendants departed from the foot of the throne and marched in an orderly manner to the massive doors at the room's far end, where the halberd-armed vulpine guards granted them passage out after a drawn-out sound of hinges creaking.

"Safe travels, Lord Trip!" Judith shouted back with as much authority as her voice could muster, shooting onto her feet and with withdrawing her sweaty paw from his with form as straight as cooling steel. The massive rabbit merely smiled at her one final time before he rounded the corner into the hallway and disappeared from view, and Nick caught sight of his betrothed's ears wincing as one of his attendants let slip an impolite chuckle.

"Do you wish to submit to me as well, my Princess? Or would a beggar from the port tickle your fancy?" He facetiously joked with a mockingly formal smirk, unable to stop himself from once more picking on his fiance now that privacy had greeted them.

The only reply he received was a murderous glare and clenched fists, ready to leap over and strike at him, yet he knew better than to open his clamped-shut jaw until the blood withdrew from both Judith's eyes and face leaving naught save weariness and a long sigh.

"I must avoid slips of the tongue like that if I am to remain a competent Princess," She solemnly vowed, her eyelids falling shut as she slowly shuffled back to the throne and fell into it as limply as a freshly-departed corpse. "And to think this is what we have burdened so much hardship for. Courtly etiquette..."

"You speak of that as though it were criminal," Nick curiously noted, his eyebrow raising as he brushed the tip of his tail against the Princess's incessantly twitching nose, her amethysts blinking open as she tried to blow away his assault through a feeble smirk.

"It is not that," She lightly refuted, tossing her head and pushing his tail away after a chuckle. "With all I have witnessed in these weeks this is a more than welcome break. I was just expecting... _more_. A life more calming than stressful."

"Well had you returned to your quarters at a reasonable hour last night, as I did, then maybe your mind would be far more attuned to these proceedings," He mildly scolded like a mother to her kit, flicking the tip of her nose one last time with his slim tail. "And I must congratulate, I did not know you were such a connoisseur of celebration, from what the Emperor described to me."

"If you suppose to infer I drank my wits out, your claims would be erroneous in the highest degree," She retorted, her brow furrowing and one of her ears raising in defiance. "Me and Emperor Canus were merely held in a long discussion regarding the current state of the realm. I questioned him long and thoroughly about all his affairs, from the date of his birth to his estates abroad."

"It sounds as though you made his close acquaintance, from what both you and he have told me on this morning," Nick willfully admitted, his straight ears perking as he stared into King Hopps' expansive eyes from the night prior. "If only I could repeat those words for you father and I. He is more than a fine mammal, as I have come to know, but awfully prone at profusely apologizing..."

"He was never one to let his emotions not be known," Judith merrily told, memory flashing in her gaze as her paws pressed into her throne's armrests as though she were to throw herself from the chair. "Always as deep and fascinating yet open as a scroll. Many lords have spoken I've taken after him opposed to my mother."

"That is blatant!" Nick hastily exclaimed, folding his legs over and shifting his back to readjust his tight white doublet as a huge, toothy grin rose and his eyelids fell. "My dearest Judith, though you may be as undemanding to read as your father, you are written in a cursive not of this alphabet!"

"Coming from a fox - a mammal known to bottle up every aspect of life - that is quite the confounding statement!" She wittily rebuffed, her demeanor suddenly alight with renewed energy and refreshed defiance. But he was not one to willingly back away from such a stubborn and difficult doe...

"Oh really?" He rhetorically asked, leaning away from her as his squinted eyes studied her teal dress without any relent before darting to mercilessly pry at her sealed purple gaze. "Reveal to me, Carrots, did you make your wishes to spend some time away from the bustle of court life known to the Emperor?"

"I... may have mentioned his mountain estate, yet hardly more than that," She reluctantly replied after a brief moment of recollection, her eyes momentarily darting to stare off at a colorful tapestry across the hall. "I hadn't the belief that then would be appropriate for such a request."

"Yet your hypocrisy shines as blatantly as these excessive gifts around us!" She swiftly countered, motioning to the crates and chests of luxuries beside her as her frown furrowed deeper and rosy cheeks heightened. "You have as much desire to take a brief hiatus as I, yet your _foxy_ attitudes have left you silent as a dormouse!"

"I am a fox; I am expected to be silent on matters of want," Nick jovially lectured, placing a paw on his chest elegantly as his betrothed merely gave off a pointed scoff and rolled her eyes. "I am as much a mystery as I am handsome."

"You're 'handsome' features more resemble my unbrushed tail!" She remarked, her condescending tone daring him to counter. Nick felt his well-kept, long tail stand straight as he peered over the arm of her throne, catching sight of the pitiful ball of fluff she called her tail.

"I suppose, then, I am very delectable indeed," He salaciously riposted after a drawn-out stare, his eyes rising to Judith's once more red cheeks and hot ears that folded behind her head as he fell back into his chair, witnessing her squirm uncomfortably in hers. A toothy grin took hold of his muzzle at her embarrassed expression and visibly tight jaw, behind which he knew she was frantically conjuring an equally teasing reply. Oh, how he had missed toying with her! And not to undermine she with him.

"Why must it be that whenever I enter your companies, my Prince and Princess, you are always engaged in some breed of trivial pursuit for pleasure?" An echoing voice questioned aloud, shifting Nick's focus to the far end of the hall, where through the high doorway Marshal Fenus in his clanking set of plate stalked, paw covering his eyes and ears low behind his head as a patrol of guards filed in his footsteps.

"We only let slip these... private thoughts when we believe we are in each other's company, my Marshal," Judith hurriedly explained with fabricated grace, her tone as though someone had ruffled her fur, and Nick felt his own face heating in turn as she sent him a smile that both promised future retaliation and commanded him to silence his lascivious tongue.

"I can assure you we do not plan in advance to be caught in such comprising conversations," He casually brushed off, attempting to usher out the awkward silence that hung like a rotting stench in the air, but out of the corner of his eye he caught Judith glaring at him with face as red as the chest of rubies to her side.

 _Better to not make this the slightest part more awkward._ He stiffly scolded, clenching his jaw and smiling down at the Marshal who merely studied his and the Princess's forced courtesy. Eventually the short fox grinned madly, a chuckle escaping past his lips.

"The two of you look absolutely terrible!" He candidly exclaimed, tail wagging madly, and both he and Judith shot onto their feet instantaneously, faces fuming in outrage and chagrin.

"That is-"

"How could-"

"I believed we-"

"I was only joking, you young, foolish sovereigns," The Marshal lightly chided with a wave of his paw, and Nick exchanged a frustrated glance with Judith before he stepped back into the throne, with her following close behind. "No longer are you cradled by your kin, nor betrayed by any enemies. I've come to congratulate you for what the two of you have accomplished together, and apologize for any of my actions that may've hindered this that we've sought for so may ages."

"Between us we've heard enough apologies and reassurances of loyalty for a lifetime," Nick bluntly told, motioning between he and the Princess with the tip of his tail. He couldn't halt himself flicking an ear in annoyance as Marshal Fenus civilly bowed his head, almost tauntingly so, and felt his frown refuse to wane for an instant more.

"Regardless, we cannot thank you for how you've stood at our sides through thick and thin, my Marshal," Judith piped in, expression grateful and soft as she showered the short fox at the throne's steps with praise to which Nick could only nod along in agreement. "You've been an ally, both to me and Prince Wilde, in these strenuous and uncertain weeks. Stood by and supported us, even when your own instincts and the popular voice demanded you otherwise. Only the truly loyal will maintain such feats."

"You are far too generous, my Princess," The Marshal curtly rebuked, attempting with his might to suppress the ever-growing gratitude in his flushed cheeks and lowered tail. "I only do my duty to my sovereigns as any other fox would."

"Once more you undervalue your being, Fenus," Nick genteelly scolded, raising to motion to him with the tip of his tail and only inciting further discomforted thanks on the Fennec fox's face that spurred him to yet more honest acclaim, his pumping heart genuinely proud for all the seemingly harmless fox had pursued. "For years you've been at my side, ever omniscient and unafraid - for better _and_ worse! Of the many who I take after, none more so have lectured me in witticism than you. I'd raise a cup in your name, if only-"

"Ah!" He mirthfully cried, ears and tail shooting straight upwards as though missles, after a distracting glance to the quite literal hills of gifts to the throne's side. He hastened to the pile, stepping down as his paws darted to a pair of jewel-encrusted silver chalices among a set of gold and steel silverware. He tossed one of the flasks to Judith, who stood from her seat to catch and raised it above her head with a jointly gracious and humored grin.

"To you, Marshal Fenus, friend of rabbits and foxes," He toasted in his species' tongue, ignoring the odd looks from the guards as he raised his cup high. "And friend to Nicholas Wilde and Judith Hopps."

He pressed the chalice to his lips, deliberately allotting himself a good few moments to act downing a long sip of wine and even wiping his mouth with his tail once finished. He grinned at Marshal Fenus's raised eyebrow and clenched jaw as he set the cup back in the pile, glad his act had furthered the short fox's diseased nature.

"The honor is mine, my Prince," He curtly repeated with a bow of his head, ear flicking in irritability mixed with genuine gratitude. "A shame my poor house cannot offer you anything of value as gift."

"We have received enough gifts for a dozen lifetimes, Marshal," Judith delightedly reassured, sending the fox an empowering smile that Nick watched as he wandered to her side, his tail circling around her ankles. "Your requested gift to us will be none whatsoever!"

"If that is what you wish, then I shall undoubtedly deliver," The Marshal thankfully obliged with another quick bow of his head, although he took a small step forward once his respectable expression returned to view, arousing interest within Nick. He perked his ears in keen interest as the fox motioned for the guards flanking him to turn back towards the hall's entryway, preparing to march in a noticeably wide formation.

"I am afraid I must ask the two of your highnesses to accompany me now," The Marshal courteously requested, shifting on his steel boots and lifting his tail unhurriedly towards the exit. "I have not come only to exchange pleasantries. The Emperor and King have both requested your presences."

"On any other day I would protest," Judith apathetically confessed, glancing with a heavy gaze at the piles of gifts while her ears fell, and Nick slid his tail to her lower back for support, smirking at her disinterest. "I have no desire to sort through these mountains of merchandise. I shall allow the palace servants to do so, this once."

"On our return we may examine them once more - _without_ the sharp eyes of the Lords on us," He warmly comforted, stepping down to Marshal Fenus as his arms fell behind his back and without turning away from his betrothed. She nodded graciously, sighing in thankful appreciation as she strolled to his side, his tail returning to her back as the Marshal led them away, guards surrounding their perimeter.

None of them spoke as they passed through the palace's eerily empty hallways - no longer did the servants and lances of different lords run to and fro adhering to their lordship's wishes. Only a few scattered foxes stood guard with the occasional local passing them by, carrying platters of dirty dishes from the feast or stained blankets from the guest suites.

"Of where are we to meet our fathers?" Nick querried as they emerged onto the westward-bound paved path roasting in the midday sun that forced him to pant for breath and wipe his forehead with his forearm, his doublet suddenly as heavy as the Marshal's hulking armor. He would consider himself the luckiest mammal in the world if his white clothes didn't stain an ugly yellow with his sweat...

"They've requested we unite at the port," Fenus bluntly answered, barely tilting his head in his direction, too enthralled by the ever approaching West Gate and the white-furred captain who stood at its side to bother.

"I feel as though they wish to punish us, forcing an excursion this far out under this blistering sun," Judith levied, voice heavy and her straightened form weighed down by the heat.

"If they truly wanted to inflict injuries unto our persons, they'd send us through the Abra district without so much as a watchmammal at our backs," Nick whimsically countered, knowing fully well his dark joke may backfire entirely, and he tensed his arm, ready for whatever blow Judith might've decided to ail him with.

Instead she only scoffed and shook her head, ear flicking in dismissal as she took him by the arm while they passed under the pleasant shadow of the gatehouse.

"So you suddenly find my quips too fair to resist?" He asked, tail sprawling across her shoulder blades as he drew closer to her, keeping pace with the Marshal as he slowed to greet the captain.

"I am merely pleased we are departing from these dark events, and leaving in our wake merry jokes," She earnestly explained, and Nick felt his ears shoot skyward at her answer. He grinned with as much affection as soared in his chest, unable to put his merriment into coherent words, and instead leaned towards her cheek.

He pressed his lips against the red scar, still healing from the slash and bruise he had inflicted on her with his own two paws. How its dreadful sight still made his knees weak and breath stifle whenever he caught so much as a though of it.

"Given proper time our wounds and cuts shall heal, and with them the rifts that plague our species," He lightly whispered in her ear, eyes filled with overwhelming affection for this rabbit that ruffled his fur in all the right places. She only blinked back at him, amethysts making him wistful for another kiss, but the sun returned as they exited the gate's shadow and began their slow descent down the steps into the city.

The taste of her on his tongue and the faint smell of her scent, both from her form and on his fur, would have to suffice, for the moment...

The guards' formation widened as their party trotted down the final few steps, all but exhausted. Nick swore he could feel his innards cooking inside this white cocoon of his, sensing the same heavy huffs escaping from his betrothed's pumped chest, but compared with Marshal Fenus in his sweaty furnace of steel they were as cool as an Arctic summer.

Much to everyone's pleasure the shadow of the city's stone and wood-beamed buildings provided some protection, or at least so much to catch their breaths. A few scattered rabbits passed them on the deserted streets, even the merchants most corrupted by avarice having retreated indoors in favor of the afternoon shade. Truly, the city was burning, the showers from the evenings prior but an ancient memory.

"If only we could retreat to the coast, to escape this wave of swelter," He raptly wished, and Judith grunted in agreement, head hanging from her neck as though a steel ingot. Out of the corner of his gaze he saw the Marshal flick an ear, but do nothing more.

The built-up banks of the river furthered the weight of the air, but a weak southward-bound breeze managed to drive off enough of the heat for Nick to feel the easing touch of cool sweat building at his sides.

Even from a far distance ahead, with waves of heat marring his sight, he picked out the unmistakable figures of the Emperor's and King's escort boarding a galley pulled close to the stone wharf. One by one the halberd-armed foxes marched up the wooden ramp until only a small pawful were left in formation on dry land, forming a sparse rectangle of shields facing outward.

At its center stood Ambassador Dhani deep in conversation with the staunch King Hopps and Emperor Canus, who had yet to change from his doublet from the feast, hastily babbling as though he had mere seconds before he departed from Earth. Of what Nick couldn't tell, straining his curious ears for a moment before lowering them, reassuring himself that whatever the Bengal Fox was hurriedly conveying would soon be repeated.

"Sending us south, my Emperor Canus and King Hopps?" He rhetorically queried in as their party passed through the line of guards, Marshal Fenus making headway in front of he and Judith to stand beside the Ambassador. The Emperor and King turned away from Dhani with a courteous glint in their gazes, the jewelry-clad tan fox having cut his words short the instant his welcoming gaze had fallen on he and Judith's worn but steady forms.

"Certainly a fair day to, would it not be, my noble Prince Wilde and dearest Princess Hopps?" King Hopps boomed gaily, grinning from ear to ear as his bent ears attempted to shadow his squinted gaze, and Nick politely bowed to the red and gold-clad rabbit in time with the Princess, paying no more than a passing thought to his wishful statement.

"To depart from this broiling air I would sell you my very own pelt," Judith revealed, voice notably lacking the liveliness of days prior, as she raised from her bow and turned her smile to Ambassador Dhani, standing with arms behind his shirtless chest.

"Ah, I am afraid I cannot steal an item so precious from a mammal I am indebted to," He earnestly declined in his characteristic heavy accent, waving his paws as his tail fell to his ankles. "Beside, rabbit fur is not functional nor lucrative, in my home in the east."

"And what of the luxurious pelt as a mammal such as I, my Ambassador? Certainly that would fetch a hefty price!" Nick jokingly pressed the wide-eyed Bengal Fox as his toothy grin widened, inciting a snort and roll of the eyes from Marshal Fenus.

"When we summoned you to engage in the finer arts of conversation I did not expect to be met with such sarcasm - let alone from you, Judith!" The Emperor exclaimed in casual disbelief, his dark green eyes darting between the Princess's and his before resting, accompanied by a smile, on his, and Nick felt his smirk rise once more. "It seems you have been shedding some of your character unto her, Nicholas!"

"That is a reaction we may only hope for, in these coming weeks," King Hopps buoyantly acknowledged, nodding towards his vulpine counterpart before his expectant hazel eyes turned back to his and Judith's idle gazes, finger wagging at them. "I expect the two of you to be as closely bound as royal captives on your return."

"On our return?" Both he and the Princess repeated, confounded. They exchanged an awkward glance at having drowned the other's voice, but the curious beast inside of Nick's head had been roused too much to apologize, as had his betrothed's.

"Both King Hopps and I have concurred that it is in the future of our species' interests to allot you some weeks for recuperation," The Emperor explained, his words making his thumping chest soar with surprise and eyes burst to the size of plates.

"The pretense of your marriage is to maintain the peace between our species; unite our kinds so that they may never again suffer at the other's paws," King Hopps proudly continued, standing straight as he gazed on them like prized tapestries. "You have both demonstrated, not to us alone, but to all the Lords and Ministers of Rabbit and Fox kinds, that you are dedicated to one another more so than even the most ancient pair of elephants. You have suffered inhumanely, been thrown into heartache and pain by villains time and time again, but have overcome every one and displayed the true extent of the drive for the other's heart."

"We've not served as allies in your struggles; rather, at some times, as enemies," The Emperor went on in a more somber tone, Nick listening to every word as though his life depended on it, and he could feel a sense of regretful reassurance rising in his throat that was swiftly washed away by tense zeal. "Consider this our requisition for all the aid we could've provided in your darkest hours; four weeks at my Estate in the Lake Country, among the foothills of snow-capped peaks. Allow your wounds to fade, minds to rest easy and bonds of affection to tighten, without worry for the bustle of court life."

"Imagine the excursions!" Judith delightedly exclaimed, turning to him with a rejuvenated expression that only heightened his own enthusiasm. "We could spend our evenings strolling along the shores of the lakes, mornings dining over streams, middays reading and sparring under the shade of trees!"

"It has been the greater part of a year since I departed the Empire for campaign," He longingly yet eagerly chimed in, watching the Princess's eyes widen in anticipation from behind a green veil of memories. "Never before have I spent so long away from its borders since my youth. Its wide rivers, warm forests, wild hills beckon me to approach."

"Seldom have I ever dreamed of visiting such picturesque locales!" Judith breathed, her gaze spinning back to the Emperor, yet in one sole moment her ears fell and expression hardened, eyes darting to the swiftly running Rhine. Nick leaned towards her still face, taken aback by the sudden reversal of her tone, and her brilliantly purple eyes locked with his.

"It pains me that I must refuse this trip," She stiffly apologized, sending a quick bow of her head to the Emperor and the King, who merely stared on, ears high. Nick opened his mouth to protest, but as her silent amethysts delved deeper into his gaze realization struck him like a battering ram.

"As must I," He steadily voiced in agreement, tail wrapping around his feet as he met the four attentive stares of the mammals before him, mind devoted on remaining firmly in place despite the regret biting away at his chest. "There is still much to do, despite our weariness. Marshal Certus may yet be the tip of an iceberg of deceit. We have need to devote ourselves to our courtly duties and ensure that no more subterfuge mars our attempts at peace."

"Grand Marshal Paratus and Admiral Dolosus are to call a council to review the subordinates of Certus," Marshal Fenus informed, taking a polite step forward, glancing at Ambassador Dhani expectantly as the shirtless fox joined him by his side. "Your direct input, while certainly appreciated, won't be necessary for their investigation. And you needn't worry about security - I've assigned the finest captain and guards to accompany you."

"And the Marshal and I are to build a network of informants in the Empire's forces," Dhani eagerly told, tail swinging across the ground like a branch in an autumn breeze as he flicked an ear to the hills beyond the river's other bank, covered from peak to foot by the tents of the Second Army and other forces that had yet to depart. "If so much as camp follower breaths a treacherous thought, they shall be relieved of duty."

"Marshal Certus will remain a guest of the Palace's dungeons ad infinitum, where he still sleeps from your strike, until his military trial," The Emperor added, eyes moving to Nick's as he exhaled a huff of humored pride. Nick couldn't halt the rising hope in his chest that threatened to sweep away his worries, feet beginning to bob in anticipation, yet he remained unconvinced, mind still fretting over everything that could turn against them.

"And before you bring yourself to ask, Prince Gregory and Lucas's supporters shall be kept under close watch until they have paid their fines," King Hopps finished, grinning in a dark manner he had thought virtually impossible, as his attention shifted to the Princess's hope-infused wide eyes and heels that bounced incessantly off the ground. "Your brothers, on the other paw, I have plans for. On your return they should be far more accepting to this course of events."

"It still diseases me that we are to abandon our duties during such a turbulent time," Nick anxiously interrupted, breaking his hold with Judith to raise out a cautious paw under the ecstatic gaze of his betrothed. "Certainly, at the very least we may only retreat for a short few nights, or bring with us ministers with which to consult?"

"Oh, come now, Nicholas!" Judith ecstatically scolded, pulling his outstretched paw into both of hers with a wide, pleading gaze that nearly swayed him merely by its sight. "It will only be a benefit if we accept this much needed rest!"

"If you feel obligated to duty, then on this voyage you and Judith may discuss the date of your wedding," The Emperor gently told, his contented aura turning a shade more controlling as he lashed his tail and raised an eyebrow. "But do not fail to remember, I am still your sovereign as King Hopps is still Judith's. Both of us have emerged victorious from far more one-sided struggles."

Nick took a moment to let his concerned gaze travel across the other mammal's faces before he paused on Judith's pleading expression and saucer-sized eyes. He let a sigh slip loose, his tail and head falling for a brief second as he finally conceded.

"I suppose the Empire will be in experienced paws," He wearily accepted, sharing a smile with the Emperor and King, and Judith threw her arms around his neck with the strength of a rhino, pulling him to her level with both arms and a leg extended to keep himself balanced.

"Eek!" She squealed in sheer excitement, hastily rushing to her father and hugging him while sending the rest of the mammals a farewelling bow. Within instants she had bolted onto the galley's wide deck and was pummeling the captain of the guard with questions in the common tongue, judging by his contorted expression a language he did not understand.

"No doubt the two of you implanted this idea in the skulls of your benefactors," He jokingly accused with a lighthearted growl, frowning at the Marshal and Ambassador with mock annoyance. The two merely exchanged a glance and chuckled, as though humored by a private joke.

"Perhaps we overheard your and the Princess's wishes; perhaps not," Marshal Fenus deceitfully pondered, tail flicking to and fro and eyes squinting. "Is it not fair to have some uncertainty in life?"

Nick merely shook his head and grumbled as he turned towards King Hopps and the Emperor, the heat once more baking him through his doublet.

"Thank you, your lordships, for this astounding opportunity," He mirthfully thanked, attempting to appear as gracious as he felt beneath his fur. He couldn't stop himself from staring longingly at Judith, still berating the captain mercilessly, the reality that they were to soon disappear into a romantic valley the setting of so many novels tugging at his swollen ribs. Oh how he had longed for this since their first meeting. Maybe he should've been more vocal with his wants...

"Tacitus spent six months away from the field courting your mother, Nicholas," The Emperor heartily reminded, King Hopps's eyes gaping in astonishment at the exorbitant time. "Feel no guilt in reveling in these simple pleasures. Just, be sure to not be assaulted."

"I can assure you I have such plans!" He eagerly reassured, paw on his waist as he moved a foot onto the galley's wooden ramp. "I shall return with both my arms and legs!"

* * *

The journey to the foothills of the Southern Mountains that ran parallel to the valley of the Rhine, where from their party would trek to the Emperor's Lake Country estate over a final half-day, was a two day and night-long affair by virtue of a galley. The southerly winds were favorable and strong, the sun beat down relentlessly without so much as a mist of cover and the air was hot and humid as though the breath from a massive lion.

Judy could do little except sit in the shade, watching the high, steep banks of the river float by while engaging in passive conversation with Nicholas. They both spoke little, not wanting to squander any words they may better spend exchanging along the shores of the mountain lakes or the pine forests that surrounded those blue pools. Of course neither of them acknowledged this verbally, but Judy could see the same thought guiding her speech in Nicholas's idle eyes.

The first day of travel, from midday until midday on the morn, saw them further south in the first hour than she had been her entire life. With eager eyes she leaned from her chair, studying the scenery that reminded her faintly of the hills around the palace. Just after sunrise, after a short yet sure sleep, the galley steered down a narrower tributary of the wide river, and the overhanging leaves and branches of the trees edged closer, beckoning her into their green depths and flickering sunlight.

The following day on the water flew by at an even quicker pace, partially thanks to the cool winds that now stirred her fur. Nicholas departed from her side early to consult with Captain Zaphorize - a stiff swift fox barely her size - inviting her to join them, yet she refused, too entranced by the ever-steepening hills surrounding their craft. In the distance snow-stained mountains towered over the world like something out of a fairy tale. Her gaze sparkled like ice, her heart pounding in her chest and ears alight with the sounds of howling wind as she pictured herself climbing those monstrous peaks.

Nicholas and the Captain came to the decision to pull the galley into a small port in the early hours of the afternoon, their light supplies having dwindled since their departure. As the guards assigned as their escort and a company of wolves - mercenaries from the north that had greeted them in the fishing village - carried baskets of fruit and seafood on board Nicholas led her away from their ship and through the narrow streets of the walled hamlet.

"These buildings seem foreign to my eyes, yet so very familiar in the same sense," She eagerly described, her wide, attentive eyes and straight ears refusing to leave any sight, sound, or smell unnoticed, from the tall, arched stone windows along either side of the tight windy street to the scents of coriander and smoked salmon that wafted from them.

"I recall being as perplexed as you, once," Nicholas recounted, arms behind his back and tail swishing to and fro, and Judith spared an ear to listen. "After my youth in the cities of the Camhara, these walled towns with high buildings and as much space as a metropolis of mice infatuated me. In these times I couldn't wish for another layout, but back then, for a while, I felt as though a fish on dry land!"

"Well let us hope that I do not suffocate and flop around without relent!" She joked with immense blithe, puffing out her cheeks and keeping her arms at her sides as she wriggled in midair, landing on her feet before propelling against Nicholas. He half-chuckled half-scoffed at her, shoving her away and slowly shaking his head with a gaze that asked ' _why_ 'and an expression that ordered her to stop, yet her only response was to land by his side and laugh hysterically, overcome by the absurdity of his reaction and her acting as the street widened into an open, noisy courtyard.

Her merriment was abruptly stifled as her eyes blinked open to find herself glared at from a dozen different directions. The village's marketplace, bustling with life as foxes dressed in overly puffy and colorful doublets and dresses of red, blue, green, and a hundred shades between them, went about their daily business, had fallen unnaturally silent from the instant she and Nicholas had entered. As they piloted between the stands of vegetables and fruit and the crowds that thronged them Judith pressed herself against Nicholas's side, her skin crawling with unease and her mind overcome by a sense of vulnerability.

"Why are you and I the targets of these mammals' unbridled gazing?" She covertly whispered, taking his arm into her own as her trepidatious gaze met the stares of the onlookers promptly.

"I believe it is you who have them aroused," He warmly accused in the common tongue, paying no mind to the crowds of eyes and instead smiling down reassuringly with a twinge of mischief in his grin. "Not oft is a doe seen wandering the Empire, escorted by a male fox. No doubt they are conflicted, but these lands around the Aar Valley are as loyal and peaceful as the Empire comes, though that may be hard to believe."

"Well, we have yet to be assaulted, as had happened in the presence of my oh-so-welcoming species," She optimistically ventured, returning a wary smirk, yet as she turned back to the swarms of passing faces she realized not one appeared angry or furious; more so curious, merely staring, not glaring.

She worked up the confidence within her beating chest to wordlessly confront one of them, deciding upon an old, one-eyed red fox leaning against the town's gatehouse with a pipe in his muzzle. As she and Nicholas passed him by she sent the brown-clad elder a warm smile as he took a long puff from his pipe. He didn't show merriment back.

"Pay no mind to him; seldom do the gatekeepers of any town of foxes smile to any traveler, rabbit or otherwise," Nicholas jokingly heartened with a shake of his head, his elbow squeezing hers encouragingly as they passed under the gate and into the cleared sections of forest surrounding the walls, yet she could feel dozens of eyes still razing the back of her skull. In the distance she caught the distracting sight of some armed guards orderly filing around the towers, and from far up the paved stone road that snaked through the low forest she could hear the wheels of commerce turn; a mill's grindstone, an approaching cart, the-

"Pardon!" She exclaimed in confusion, frowning as Nicholas pulled her off the road and dashed into the woods with her essentially in his arm, pressed against his sun-warmed side plate and unable to move. He refused to answer, nor slow his blitzing pace through the undergrowth, even as she began to struggle and playfully hit against his armor. Only a precision strike against his lower neck stopped him dead in his tracks, sending him onto the grassy forest floor with a yelp and her flying from his grasp, landing a half-clearing away with a thud that stole her breath from her lungs.

"Are you attempting to kidnap me, my Prince?" She irritably yet affectionately queried after the dizziness withdrew from her skull and spots no longer plagued her vision. She had landed on her back, looking skyward as spots of blue peeked through an ocean of leaves, but with a blow of air that pushed a long strand of grass from tickling her nose she slowly stood, ears high and chest puffed, listening for her betrothed covertly waiting somewhere in the waist-high grass.

His presence did not remain a mystery for long, with specks of his orange fur standing out from the green like blood in snow not but a moment's dash away. Her thighs tensed, prepared to pounce, ears plastered to her emerald dress and body lowered as she silently approached her quarry with a predatory frown that intended to repay him in kind.

"By now the wound Lord Caer inflicted me with should be but a painful memory, but it seems whenever my body heals someone approaches and destroys that progress," An afflicted Nicholas grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet, paw pressing into his shoulder where she had struck mere seconds earlier. His expression echoed sour and soreness, those blossoming green depths of his scouring the clearing for her hidden form.

"By no means did I ever think to injure you!" She fretfully stammered, the gaiety in her aura dissolving as her feet rushed her out of the camouflage and before the Prince, where she attempted to examine his wound under his troubled haze. "Is blood-"

The instant her fingers brushed against his shoulder pad Nicholas withdrew sharply, a distressed sound almost resembling a growl slipping through his bared teeth. A worm of fear burrowed into her heart at the sight of his white maw.

 _Pain surely cannot overcome this easily._ She anxiously told her racing heart, beating as swiftly as water over a cliff as her eyes darted between his snarl and brooding gaze. _Has the Night Howler poison afflicted him once more? Oh, God..._

Her lungs failed to breathe breath after breath as she watched the Prince's snarl phase out in favor of a grin, his entire demeanor shifting from irate to controlling in mere moments, prompting her brow to furrow in misunderstanding.

"Never trust a fox, my dearest Carrots, for he will trick your guard into submission," He gently warned, lowering his chiding gaze to her level. Judy felt her frown fade in the moment of realization before he pounced on her, his tail following behind like a horse's mane.

His sudden attack swept her from her unprepared feet, sending the two of them rolling through the dirt and grass, locked in strained laughter that suffocated her for breath. She hit against him with her feet and fists, trying to force him away while managing to avoid being squashed beneath his armor. In reply he kept her pressed against his chest, rendering her helpless to his incessant squeeze.

When they finally slowed to a stop she landed across him, a wheeze escaping both their forms as they took a brief respite, yet before long she leaped into the air and dove onto her betrothed with an overpowering smirk, a childish sense of glee overcoming all other thoughts beneath her skull. Where not a soul could see nor hear them she let all barricades of formality fall, embracing the wild wrestling with all her soul.

She noticed in the Prince's vital emeralds that same unmistakable feeling, and at that her chest swelled to the size of a hulk's hull. Never before had she been so overcome by affection - not lust - for one mammal. Her mammal - her _fox_. The one she'd marked, chosen out of millions, who would soon be her husband.

She lay in the flickering sunlight, her tight dress sullied by sweat and desperate pants rocking her frame, when their bout finally came to a close. The sun's heat baked her body from sprawled ear to tired toe, the trees' shade doing little against the humidity hanging like a fog in the air. She could hardly think, worn down by hours - was it hours? Perhaps; it had certainly felt so! - of indecisive, personal - yet not violent - combat.

"We make... a good team... yes?" Nicholas optimistically stuttered, struggling for breath as though atop a peak, and he rolled his head on the flattened grass they lay draped over to stare at her curiously, ears perked.

"More than... that," She ecstatically agreed, her gaze locked with the blue sky a thousand miles overhead that teased her with the color of water. "We must practice... together... once more... when we reach the Lake Country."

"Become an inter-species... sparring duo," The Prince pondered aloud, head rolling back to stare skywards, a flicker of excitement in his gaze. "Devise a way to use our strengths to both our advantages... disable more trained opponents."

"Precisely," She confirmed, her parched tongue running over her dry lips as her gasps slowly subsided. When her lungs had drunk all the air they so desperately craved she shifted onto her side, rubbing her sore shin with her thumbs while watching Nicholas feebly attempt to sit up only to fall back onto the grass with a thud.

"I believe a few days of rest and relaxation shall come into order, before our next session," He wearily suggested, eyes swimming in green vitality despite his paws pressing against certain points, undoubtedly where his soreness burrowed, of his armor. "Unless we wish for our bruises and cuts to become seasonal visitors."

"We may entertain one another with fables and poems, for the time being," Judy eagerly contemplated, her mind's eye slipping back to the memory of when they'd exchanged their heated views on _The Romance of the Wandering Hearts_ \- a rabbit romance - after supper, the thought sending her ears straight. "Oh, how foolish I am! I've yet to tell you my thoughts on _The Darkest of Nights_!"

"Let us save that discussion for a long meal," Nicholas heartily told, his tail rising from the grass to lay across her middle, and with a paw she stroked his soft fur as his translucent, green gaze pulled her deeper into his besotting trance. "We have much else to gossip over; the feeling of the heavy air of this valley, our lives before this union, the date of our wedding-"

"Yes, that," She unenthusiastically repeated at the final mention, biting her lip as her eyes wandered off into the green space behind the Prince's face. She felt no rush to take his paw in marriage, despite their affinity, regardless of how foolish that sounded aloud. He lifted his head at the curt tone of her words, and a voice within urged her to reassure his worried, inquisitive gaze that softly stared into hers.

"I mean I do not mind of when we are set in holy matrimony," She humorously uplifted, his fretful expression reminding her of why she'd fallen so far for his foxy character; wry yet kind. "Do not doubt I wish to, with all my throbbing heart, my apprehensive vulpine. Yet our fathers spoke it with their own tongues; our bond must be as strong as a lock forged by God. I'm afraid we shall put our love to squalor if we decide upon a date too soon."

"Despite the ordeals we have faced, I will admit It pains me at night to know so little of you, my Princess," Nicholas concurred, expression tender and eased as he relaxed once more, extending an inviting arm out to her. "Until it is in my reach to recite every second of your life, every ounce of your loves and hates, what makes you tick, and what makes you laugh; until I know everything of this magnificent rabbit for whom I've fallen in love, I do not wish to rush to marriage."

"If only I could be as poetic as you, sly fox," She dotingly ventured, scooting closer until her chest pressed against his side. She dug her chin into his shoulder, drawing long sniffs at his fur that still vaguely smelled of her mark while his tail encircled her back and arm pulled her close.

"We should be married in autumn, before the snow, should that be possible," She distantly mumbled, her eyes flickering shut as she rubbed her cheek against Nicholas's neck, bathing in his scent as she spread hers. Her worn body felt beyond the definition of comfortable snuggled between the soft ground and his bulky armor, and she felt her senses begin to fade as drowsiness overtook her.

She yawned massively, getting a rise from Nicholas who rubbed the side of her head with his own, his touch making her smirk and press back.

"I'd like to marry before cold nights come," He murmured in agreement, their noses accidentally brushing amidst their marking, and Judy took the opportunity to rub her nose against his snout, her mind beginning to slip into the welcoming embrace of rest.

Moments later she was dozing, bathed in warmth and surrounded by her betrothed.

* * *

"The wheels roll until they strike the shore," The ash-shaded fox direly greeted, his voice filled with unconcealed spite. "And the waves drag them under. You, _elector_ , are no better than a flood."

"To say what guides me to this place is love would be a lie," The tan fox politely replied, not bearing even the slightest inflection of tone. "But nor are my motives piloted by hate; they are of business. May I enter?"

All about him uncounted raindrops poured down from the building's roof, soaking his hooded head and the protruding tip of his snout. Not a light in that dank alley shone, nor a sole, lowly star above; only the fire from indoors, behind the ash fox who stared at his face like a rapacious burgher.

"Not oft do we find ourselves in the company of the wealthy," The fox bluntly stated, curtly flicking his tail and unhurriedly stalking away from the doorway. "The warmth escapes; bolt the door behind you."

With an urbane nod the tan fox obliged, stepping indoors and pulling his soaked hood away from his face while his host took seat alone at a long, empty table beside the roaring fireplace. He hung his drenched coat on a rusting iron hanger and pulled shut the door, turning its lock shut without a second worry, unaware that mere moments later he would be lying on the dirty wooden floorboards.

It was a hand that hooked around his ankle, pulling his weight out from beneath him and sending him back-first downwards. A blade pressed into his throat fur while a foot held down his bristling tail, rendering him helpless to the two sets of radically violent eyes.

"An elector, you are?" The thin arctic fox crushing his tail sneered, grinning madly. "So you are an outlaw, as we are, now?"

"False, dear Halosis," The other fox cackled, his fur a vibrant red and tongue a wild pink as it ran across his lips, and the blade pressed ever deeper into his skin. "I've always wondered how fox tastes. Let us inaugurate you as a meal, my supreme elector!"

"Is this how you are to treat your employer?" The tan fox exclaimed, turning his panicked, outraged gaze to the ash fox, who still sat, relaxed, in the chair across the room.

"No, but it is how all introductions begin," Was all he answered, leaning back as his eyes stared up at the ceiling's warped wooden beams. "How do we know you are not to force us into servitude the moment you depart with our great promise of action? Our price is not free, and neither is our trust."

"Marshal Certus!" The tan fox exclaimed, and the room fell silent, even the crackling of the fire hushing momentarily. The blade retreat from his neck and the foot from his tail as slowly as time would permit, the foxes holding him vulnerable casually joining their counterpart at the table, all three sets of their eyes locked with his and urging him to speak.

"We are brothers in belief, the Marshal and I," The tan fox hurriedly explained, his heart racing as he sat up from the floor and cautiously made his way to the empty seat at the end of the table, studious gaze untrusting of his hosts. "What he failed to commit the electors now deem necessary, and I have been tasked to negotiate a contract."

"Do tell, what crimes must we perpetrate that you, _foxes_ , cannot do by your own paws?" The red fox asked, his claws running along the length of his polished sword, making an awful screeching noise that shook the tan fox to his burgeoning bones.

"The extinguishing of an Emperor, and the suppression of all his heirs," He spoke through clenched teeth, suppressing a growl at the noise as his tail bristled once more.

"And by heirs, perchance, do you speak of blood, or those through adoption in addition?" The arctic fox questioned, visibly intrigued as his tail swished back and forth eagerly. "More appropriately, successors who shall become so through a _planned marriage_?"

" _All_ heirs," The tan fox critically restated, sensing the lightening demeanor of the hired blades, his edgy wariness slowly ebbing. "I cannot speak more clearly."

The ash fox glanced at his two counterparts, returning from his lean as his paws crossed the other. They shared silent stares for a long moment, the tan fox hearing his own heartbeat echoing throughout the caverns of his ears, but a white grin eventually emerged onto the fox's muzzle.

"It will be done," He joyfully assured, raising his eyebrows and motioning to the red and arctic foxes with both his paws. "I, Pestis the fox, do decree, as does my colleague Halosis and his brother, Cassis, that these obstructors of yours will soon lie in ditches. Now, let us discuss the price of their heads."

"I am listening," The tan fox carefully noted, perking his damp ears, and his gaze darted to the arctic fox's hungry smile as he leaned across the table.

"My price is this; an estate to the south, along the coast, garrisoned and supplied," The young fox demanded, and the tan fox curtly nodded after a moment of consideration, turning as his brother rose from his seat, smiling, holding his sword's blade in his jaw.

"Fifty crates of weapons; of which smith I do not care, so long as their edges are sharp and steel strong," He added, somehow speaking without slicing his cheeks nor tongue, and the tan fox nodded, unable to prevent a frown from furrowing into his forehead.

"Marshal Certus was a generous benefactor, to speak most critically of his pay, and to theorize I do not wish for an extension of aforementioned generosity would be uttering curses against the Pawpacy," The ash fox concluded, rubbing his paw against his chin as an unnerving grin grew. "Yet now, somehow, material does not erode my flaccidity. From this moment onward, you shall _not_ investigate the untimely 'passings' of any mammal whose title I may utter to you. Even if they raised you from kithood."

"It shall take convincing, although your demands will be accepted, given proper time before the other electors," The tan fox promised, dipping his head out of respect, yet none of the three deviants returned the courtesy.

"Seeing as you have no alternate choice, I cannot doubt your words," The ashen fox shrugged off, rising from his chair as his two counterparts disappeared into the darkened edges of the room, sorting through large chests while exchanging unnaturally cruel methods of murder. "But foxes are not renown for their honesty, are we? Through our own tongues, and not by your trivial rumors, will we find and extinguish our quarries. Tis' a shame our elder, Famis, cannot also partake in this truly momentous opportunity; alas, he has found work southwards, for now."

"If you trio cannot succeed, then we may yet be in need of his assistance," The tan fox retorted with suppressed hostility, slowly shuffling towards the doorway without turning his back to the ash fox's timid brown eyes. "Four is always superior than three."

"Yet three is more than plenty for your less than spotless bidding," The fox retorted, smiling in a mockingly formal manner, his face refusing to show even the slightest ounce of vexation, and with a raised tail he motioned to the door. "Now you must hurry back to your masters, else the deal may need further _renegotiation_."

The tan fox found himself locked in a stare with his host's frighteningly contained expression until his paws threw his still dripping coat over his shoulders and his feet swiftly shot him out into the pitch black world.

The door nearly slammed shut on his tail, and he let loose an irked growl as he stalked away down the muddy alleyway, eyes peeling for its link with a wider road. The rain still dripped against his hooded head, albeit he could hardly sense it thanks to the disdain boiling beneath his fur and the breeze battering his ears.

He did not spare even a glance at the dozens of shadowy, crossbow-armed loyalists covertly hugging the walls of the buildings along the wide, now-lifeless main road, ready to retaliate at his command. He merely growled, low and long.

"Foxes..." He peevishly muttered, shaking his head and stalking past them, giving them order to follow with a sharp lash of his tail.

* * *

 **So many plots! Who will be the first to lose their head? Or hands?**

 **A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 16 - January 14th**

 **Intrigue: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 1 - February 1st**


	18. Chapter Sixteen and an Update

Note: If you're reading this after January 31st, 2018, just hop right down to the chapter!

 **Q: Why are you re-releasing Chapter 16, and why have you taken down Intermission 2?**

 **A: I received immense backlash for the chapter's initial release, receiving many critical - and understandably so - reviews for the violent direction the story was taking. Needless to say I was taken aback by the immense passion people displayed, and was spurned by such to make edits - not solely to the chapter, but to the upcoming, overarching plot as a whole - accordingly.**

 **Q: What changes have you made in the update to accommodate the readers who were isolated by the chapter's divisive plot?**

 **A: After consulting with several readers directly through private messaging, I have decided to remove the second half of this chapter entirely, from the moment Nick and Judy encounter the assassins to the chapter's conclusion, and replace it with a shorter but fluffier alternative. If you had yet to read, a bloody fight ensued with our two lovebirds barely managing to survive several nigh-fatal blows that left Nick with only half his limbs and Judy hanging onto life by a thread. Initially my aim was to return and re-write their injuries to be less permanent, but decided against this after a long, stressful day of thought.**

 **As pointed out, the violence was a step too far. Many were hopeful that they'd finally see the two titular characters connect on a meaningful level, and felt betrayed when I spat more heartache back at them. I am pleased to reassure that in these upcoming chapters you certainly shall see the break you've wished for! Violence will return - eventually (keep your head high if you liked this chapter, cause shit will get messy in the future) - and stress will incessantly billow below the surface, but only after I've steadily and _slowly_ built the tension to a boiling point. Those assassins aren't going anywhere; not until we've seen some fox-on-bun action, amirite?**

 **Q: Is there anything else we should know? Will the release schedule be the same, even with these changes?**

 **A: All chapter release dates will be as seen at the bottom of the page. Additionally,**

If you have the time and energy for editing and reviewing a chapter before its official release, please get into contact with me! I am in desperate need of an editor who will be able to respond accordingly to my writing before it goes public, for _A Fox in Shining Armor_ and my third story, _Intrigue,_ sequel to my completed work _Primal,_ if will permits.

 **I'd like to present, you, the readers, a final apology for toying with your standards. I've done worse than fail, I've disappointed, a fate I never wish to see myself experience again. Please, if you can, leave a comment or pop me a message whenever a new chapter is published - even a few words will help me gauge how you all are favoring the story's direction, and in turn will grant you more enjoyable chapters.**

 **With sincere apology and enthusiasm for what's to come,**

 _VeryEagerPerson_

* * *

The final crest of the hill stole whatever strength Judy's legs already hadn't given to the arduous journey on foot. Her chest heaved to enormous size, the trek from the final port on the banks of the river to here, among the seemingly untouched forests and serene, vertical slopes of mountains that surrounded her and the convoy of guards standing loosely about her on the old paved road having sapped her energy to the marrow of her bones.

She stood without an ounce of vitality left in her hunched back, wide eyes staring forward, scouring the next windswept, grassy hill in the ever steady valley the road sloped up with disdain.

"How much longer must we suffer for our rest?" She regretfully groaned, shutting her eyes and rolling her head as the memory from the afternoon last played amid the black of her mind.

That nap in the grass and shade of leaves had cost their entourage the fair winds that had aided their journey, the air even at this altitude now unnaturally heavy as it hung like a wet cloth over her face. Pity to these guards tasked with her protection, for they were the ones hulking up these hills inside their steel cocoons with packs of their belongings strapped to them, the protection of shade coming and going with the scattered forests.

"This is the last rise before the Emperor's retreat," An out-of-breath voice piped in, and Judy needn't raise her ears to hear Nicholas come trudging to stand beside her.

He'd stripped himself of his segmented chestplate, his only attire bracers and his black stripped leather skirt. His cream-colored chest fur was almost sparkling with sweat, his trunk pumping in and out as he huffed for breath, yet his active expression and emeralds alight revealed more excitement than the weariness otherwise visible in his bruises.

"Notice how the stream's rise is curbed," He pointed out, extending an arm and claw to the low gully that ran parallel to the road. Judy traced its path uphill, her ears perking up as she noticed the gradual plateau of the trickling water.

"Then our rest is mere moments beyond our grasp!" She delightedly exclaimed, standing straight and flattening her sticky sapphire dress, senses reinvigorated, before preparing to hike up the road once more. "Let us be on our way again - I would rather go nude than wait another moment in this abhorrent gown!"

"Contain your enthusiasm, my Carrots, for there are greater stakes at play," Nicholas warned, catching her by the arm before she had moved so much as a step. With an annoyed twitch of her nose at his rude epithet she exchanged a curious glance with his humored gaze and gentle smirk that darted to something behind her.

She followed his eyes, head spinning to the opposite side of the road where their guard had taken a pause, leaning on their halberds' shafts, ears high yet heads hanging as limp as corpses from their necks. It only now occurred to her how few had maintained the quick pace she had set over the day's course - hardly enough to count on her digits - and she broke away from the Prince to stare down the last incline she'd traversed.

At the foot of the hill, far below where she now stood, was the majority of their escort, the orderly column slowly lugging up the road with Captain Zaphorize at it's head, the tiny fox visibly battered by the day's work. These foxes accompanying them here at the peak were the company's scouts, advance guard, and she couldn't save her cheeks from a deep blush at having been so blind to their fatigue.

"Captain Zaphorize!" Nicholas loudly called down to the swift fox as he paced to the edge of the road, and the ironclad captain trained his gaze on the Prince. What her fiance shouted next and the Captain's ensuing reply was far beyond her novice understanding of the tongue of foxes, but it did not take much for her to guess what words they'd traded. The guards around them sighed in thanks as they fell to rest on the grass, and further down the road her attuned ears managed to pick out gracious cries as those foxes, too, took a brief respite from march.

"Well, my eager little rabbit, would you care to lead the way for this slow, wounded fox?" Nicholas pitifully asked, feigning a wounded expression, walking past her without breaking their stare and curling his tail around her chin. She smiled at his nigh superfluously piteous expression, placing a dainty paw on her chest as she strolled around him, ears folded and gaze shut.

"Why, my Prince, it would surely be a mark on your honor if I refused such an offer!" She contently riposted in falsified outrage, a grin rising on her muzzle as Nicholas paced up off to her side, his waggish gaze boring through her skull. Her eyes traced the road's path as its incline began to slope once more, gazing up at its grassy horizon, her pumping veins and hellishly enthralled mind not wishing to wait for a second longer.

"To you I must say but one thing..." She playfully started, tensing her sore legs before leaping off at a hasty sprint up the rise, calling out over her shoulder to her fiance's bewildered face with a massive beam and ears streamlined behind her head. "Last to the top sleeps on the ground!"

From below she heard Nicholas let loose a doting scoff before he took off after her shadow. Adrenaline flowed through her limbs as prolifically as her blood, urging her faster from her betrothed as though moved by some primal instinct. Her ecstatic smile only grew as she heard him gaining on her heels, nearly feeling his hot breath down her back.

Once more she hastened her sprint, the hill's final slope within reach, and gradually the sounds of her fiance's chase subsided until the only breaths and grassy steps she heard were her own. Triumphant, she unhurriedly slowed to a halt at the top of the road, mouth agape at the sight that lay sprawling before her.

The valley's enclosed walls widened infinitely to mimic the shape of a cog's hull, its gradually declining, pine-covered slopes culminating in sharp stone peaks scraping the scattered clouds while the shores of a long, rounded lake washed against its feet. The wide stream that had been her companion branched off from the road, its clear, steady flow fading into the still expanse of crystal-blue. She'd never seen the sky and water in such proximity, yet so far apart.

Her astonished gaze swept the distant hills of green and the sparkling creeks that meandered into the lake, weaving between branches and roots alike. Grassy clearings were seldom seen; there was not one disturbed patch of forest, nor any natural grassy hilltops like where she stood. The world beyond the lake's closest shore seem primeval, untouched, wild; yet a beacon of civilization stood from the long grass.

The Emperor's manor was expansive yet no taller than even the most aged of the treetops. Its grey stone walls barely scraped the shore, not daring to disturb the lake's slumber, while its architecture mimicked simplicity and beauty. It complemented the vastness of the wilderness that enclosed its retreat beyond aptly, beckoning for recuperation amid the security of mountainous barriers and natural amenities that surrounded its courtyards.

"It has surely been too great a time since this view has greeted me," Nicholas jubilantly confessed, crossing his arms over his chest as his animated gaze swept the valley from lake to peak. She'd been too overcome by the sight to notice him come huffing to her side, yet even now she could hardly bear to face his ecstatic grin and doting eyes for more than moments at a time, the green country urging her back to its magnificent scheme of blues and greens.

"I have never beheld such beauty even in the tapestries of my father's suite," She breathed, unable to press into speech the feeling that forced her very heart to quiver until her fiance's tail snaked around her lower back. It struck her as though a falling log, forcing her eyes wide: _love_.

"Then let us not banter before this work for a moment more!" Nicholas hastily declared, drawing her attention to the elbow he extended out towards her. She stared into his adherent emeralds, chest as light as the air that drew in and out of her wildly twitching nose, for a long second before a smile that echoed the same rapture that had stolen her voice found itself once more.

"Never would I have expected to hear poetic words from such a sly beast," She affectionately remarked, drawing his cheeks higher and eyes to fall half-lidded, reaching for his arm with her own, the air suddenly rife with a pink cloud. She nearly jumped from both dress and fur as a booming voice echoed from further down the road, sending her head whirling in its direction, ears flying skyward, and all her senses skidding to alert.

"Piberius Wilde!"

The deep voice was neither welcoming nor cool, spiteful or joyous, and neither was the fox from whom the greeting arose. The tall, grey-muzzled Arctic Fox led no more than a pawful of guards towards them, marching from the Emperor's Estate. Upon his chest he bore a maple and currant doublet, his trousers matching the broad style of his shoulders and face.

His face was solemn, refusing to give away even the slightest hint of emotion. His less-than-ecstatic demeanor was betrayed, however, by his flattened ears and low-hanging tail, signs of hostility that made her jaw tense and beat quicken.

"Lepidus!" Nicholas indifferently shouted in reply, naming the unenthusiastic fox as he strode from her side to meet him head-on. The friendliness once guiding his aura mere seconds earlier had all but dissipated, his ears grievously hanging and his tail like a snake around his feet, refusing to give any ground.

Judy followed anxiously in his unhurried paces, eyes fixated on the ever-stony frown chiseled into his forehead and ears on the Arctic fox's approaching steps. She opened her mouth to speak, wishing for this fog of blindness to be lifted, but cut herself short as Nicholas shouted something spiteful and nasty at the fox in his native tongue, flicking his tail at her to wordlessly command she cease her shadowing.

The Arctic fox replied with words far more vulgar, the two of them stalking close enough that both she and the Arctic fox's guards kept a distance. He and the Prince circled each other, trading insults as they cackled, growled, and snarled as wildly as feral cats. Their contained facades began to fall in favor of open outrage and discontent, and soon they stopped speaking altogether and paced menacingly in a wide circle, appearing as though they would leap onto the other should they halt for as long as an instant.

Her apprehensive paw mindlessly fell to grasp the hilt of her sword strapped to her waist only to find a void of air, her chest sinking to the lake's floor as the realization struck her she could do naught but watch on. Her rattled heart skipped beat after strained beat as Nicholas and the Arctic fox ended their encirclements and held fast, glaring at the other with such undisguised hostility she almost felt her own fur beginning to simmer.

In one fell rush they launched themselves at the other. Judy felt her breath failing and her legs unable to move despite the voices raging at her incompetence beneath her skull, every extreme of her body having been rooted to the ground in stiffening terror. The mythical tearing of claws and gnashing of teeth virtually rang throughout her stone-stiff ears before their bodies had even collided. Horror filled her eyes as they did, forming a mass of orange and white.

Yet they cried out in merriment, not pain; upon Nicholas's face was a grin of undeniable joy as he locked with the arctic fox in an unbreakable hug tight enough to crush bone. They ecstatically exchanged merry words, their tongues working with such speed it was though they were recounting their live's journeys. Only an overwhelming warmth of glee radiated from their forms, not so much as a whim of their once frigid spirits remaining.

Needless to address, she was absolutely dumbfounded, taken miles aback by their instantaneous shift in tones. She watched apprehensively with an ever-deepening frown on her brow as Nicholas pulled away from the Arctic fox, still chatting like an anxious squirrel with his paws firmly on his counterpart's shoulders, expecting violence to erupt at any second.

She approached cautiously, thumping chest refusing to ease in even the slightest, her paws clenched together and ears as erect as monoliths, but neither took much notice. They exchanged smiles and yet more words of acquaintanceship even as she stood before them, as though a ghostly silhouette, yet her confusion fell to her extremities and muscles tensed once more as the Arctic fox's elated face peered around her fiance's muzzle and pointedly poised something to him.

"Of course!" Nicholas cheerfully replied to whatever the Arctic fox had asked, retreating a step and training his lively gaze on hers as he ushered her forward with a wave of his tail, as eased as a resting lion. "My dearest Judith, please, come and acquaint yourself with the honorable Lepidus! Finest huntsman of the north!"

"Your scent betrays you, my most fair Princess," Lepidus greeted pleasantly, stepping forward to meet her with his head bowed, and despite her best efforts at appearing courtly her nose still twitched uncomfortably as she returned the courtesy. "From the moment you drew close I could taste Nicholas's smell on my tongue, and needless to say there are few rabbits who hold such a pungent scent."

"From what I gather you are an ally of the Prince's, then?" She questioningly asked, tense gaze darting between Nicholas's and Lepdius's casual expressions, and much to her thanks she was able to breathe a sigh of relief as they both nodded and chuckled.

"That is one word to describe Lepidus and I's relations," Nicholas evocatively remarked, eyes shifting to the Arctic fox's reminiscing smile. "The Emperor assigned you as a tutor of mine during my youth abroad. You taught me statecraft and management, when I would sit for so much as an instant."

"We shared many lessons - and many adventures," Lepidus agreed, but with a quick slice of his tail through the heavy air he glared at her betrothed, gaze filled with equal humor and vexation. "Most of them your doing! _Always_ attempting to swindle wily merchants like the uncouth kit you were!"

"Who dragged you from that ad-hoc warband of slavers in Foxxan? A friendly goat?" Nicholas shrewdly protested, and Judy could feel a toothy grin growing on her muzzle as Lepidus replied with a scoff and doubtful roll of his eyes.

"Certainly there are occasions where you saved the Prince's pelt!" She reassuringly pressed, stepping up to her betrothed's side and staring into his vital emeralds as her arm snaked around his, their fingers intertwining as his tail curved around her side affectionately, drawing her closer. "He has saved my soul with his sly tongue and quick strikes more than I have his. But to say he has matured since his kithood is something I cannot accomplish on good conscience."

Nicholas huffed in outrage and slowly shook his head at her clever quip while Lepidus chuckled, the amused fox's earnest expression and calm demeanor making her doubt why she had been so fretful at the approach. It was in her betrothed's blood, it seemed, to keep connections fraught yet amicable.

"I assume the trek here was not overtly painful?" Lepidus proposed, sparing a glance back down the road with a flick of his ear.

"Without so much as a crossing breeze even mere warm days can tax beyond return," Nicholas politely refuted with an overtly weary sigh, the drawn-out sound sparking the exhaustion in Judy's body to exercise its domain once more, and her straightened back nearly collapsed under the weight of her head. Her eyes turned longingly to the Estate's open gates, the bright colors from the courtyard inside beckoning her to approach and revel in relaxation.

"The hottest hour in the Camhara could kill a tod in minutes," Lepidus stoically reflected, his turquoise eyes falling to the still grass for a brief instant before they lightened, darting to hers as he waved his tail and stepped towards his guards. "I speak too much of abroad, do I not, for an old fox like myself? You have not traveled all these leagues to listen to me prattle about the desert. Come, put your mind to rest, and enjoy yourself over supper. These mountains are the most divine healers in the world."

* * *

Lepidus and Captain Zaphorize kept a respectful distance from he and Judith, speaking to the other in short, sharp sentences at the courtyard's gates. The guards of their escort stood alert, keeping surveillance of the Manor and countryside in small patrols; never was their one not by their side except during the most private of moments, namely behind the Estate's grainy tan walls.

With his belly filled with fish, rye, and spiced wine Nick watched Judith staring, in absolute awe, at the snow-capped mountains and the lake's still surface that seemed to stretch forever from her suite's balcony with a grin carved into his muzzle, the fading daylight casting long rays of orange over both he and her. In it she appeared as charming as a heroine from a romance, her cerulean dress hugging her supple body tightly and stunning, violet eyes reminding him why he now preferred rabbits over vixens.

"Surprise shall bestow me with her presence on the morn If I do not wake to you adventuring among crags and peaks!" He joked with a light chuckle, unhurriedly meandering from the suite's doorway to lean against the balcony's vine-entwined, stone railing without letting his gaze falter from her vital amethysts. Her restless gaze rested on him for a brief moment, ears perking, her affable face glancing him up and down before locking once more with his as her arms crossed over her chest commandingly.

"Then you must rise before I, mighty fox, so that we may attempt their summits together!" She heroically declared, raising her chin and stomping her foot against the stone floor, and he couldn't help but scoff defiantly and shake his head affectionately at her overenthusiastic act, swiftly joined by the sound of her laughs. His gaze rose to one of the wild green hills, stifling a gulp at its gargantuan height as the strain in his muscles pulled at him once more.

"My Judith, if you have any intentions of rising before dawn, spare me from your design," He dryly pleaded, tail curling around his sore feet as a weary huff slipped past his lips, and he sent his betrothed's lively gaze and twitching nose a long blink. "I have no desire to arise from slumber and subsequently _die._ "

"I shall spare you from that fate, my Prince," She quietly reassured, demeanor shifting to a shade more suggestive. His heartbeat thumped heavy and gaze grew as her distant eyes fell half-lidded along with her flushed ears, her feet guiding her towards him until her swollen chest pressed against his cool steel breastplate, and he hearkened as she raised onto her toes and drew her muzzle to the base of his ear.

"Yet you've failed to recall that the day's business has yet to conclude," She slyly murmured, voice and scent drenched in lasciviousness, and as she rubbed her chin against his bunched neck fur he drew a paw around her waist, smirking humorously as he leaned back into her.

"And you fail to remember we are bound by both chastity and our surroundings," He wryly reminded, patting her lower back, and she withdrew from her marking with a confused expression that revealed the white of her teeth and exhaustion in her gaze.

"Must I repeat to you we are to sleep in opposing suites?" He delicately pressed, brushing his betrothed's flattened ears as though a tail, his claws running gently across her shoulderblades. "We are no longer in such private circumstances, as we were in your quarters. If we were to make so much as an excited squeal, every fox in this valley would both hear and smell us."

"I suppose I must delay, then, until no other's ears or noses may betray us," She longingly conceded, sighing in disappointment as her droopy eyes fell earthbound and as her arms curled limply around his chest, yet the fire in her scent still poured. "But I protest; If we cannot renew our marks, then I desire you to sleep beside me - not separated by a hallway - for without your warm fur and magnificent tail-"

"This magnificent tail?" He rhetorically asked, a devious wave drenching his mind as he sent the brown tip of his tail under Judith's dress to rest between her thighs. She almost leaped in surprise, her cheeks a bright red as she stared up at him, visibly embarrassed and annoyed.

"Did you not say-" She started to protest, ear twitching in vexation, but he raised a finger to her lips before she let slip any more words.

"We may still tease..." He affectionately whispered, his tail venturing further into her gown as his eyebrow cocked provocatively. "So long as Lepidus and the Captain discover me in my own bed when sunrise comes..."

"Sly fox," She dotingly grumbled, pressing herself further into him as her paws traveled up and down the length of his back, and a toothy grin came onto his muzzle as they swung toward the suite's door.

Breakfast was served as soon as they had risen and dressed into fine, silken clothes the Emperor had accommodated the manor with. They ate cooked fruits and bread at a finely carved spruce dining table - the only luxury furniture that adorned the otherwise local, simplistic pieces of the Estate - in a shady corner of the main courtyard while talking over the gentle drizzle of a circular marble fountain. This hastily became their normal routine, as the mornings passed, with each day bringing new discussion and fresh tastes.

For those first days in the mountains they concurred to spend their time along the lake's shore and exploring the creeks flowing like veins into it, not yet daring nor able to journey to anyplace too remote or strenuous. They chattered incessantly, Nick learning more about his betrothed in an hour than all the nights they'd spent together at the Palace.

"You mean to tell me you hadn't so much as a friend during the war?" He repeated in sheer astonishment, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he stepped from rock to rock across a low stream, tail brushing against its cool current.

"I made my acquaintance with visiting ladies and other nobledoes, but would hardly see them again after they departed," Judith lightly elaborated, hopping across the creek in one swift bound, the guard trailing her stumbling for a moment longer. Her expression did not remain gentle for long, however, a frown rising on her brow as her body stiffened and muscles tightened beneath her loose auburn gown.

"Princes Lucas and Gregory oft kept me company, yet they were neither caring nor attentive to my wishes," She stiffly spoke between nearly-clenching teeth, keeping in step with him down the shadowy track with eyes downward, and a smirk grew on his muzzle at her indignant facade. "They were always quick-to-violence and rebellious - only since the war's closure have they become traitorous."

"Their actions are merely misguided, Judith," He expressly reassured, his pleasant aura filling the warm air and thawing his betrothed's cold expression as his tail swung to and fro, weightless as a duster, yet he still flicked an ear in discomfort at the memory of their attempted assault. "Whatever poor choices they've made in recent days I trust your father to correct. They're out of my fur now."

"Indeed, out of both of ours," Judith concurred, her expansive purple gaze devoid of any malice turning to stare into his as a warm smirk cracked on her muzzle and ears raised, translucent in the flickering sunlight. "I needn't ask you if you've friends from your youth. It appears you are acquainted with every fox we stumble across!"

"Oh, there are some tods out there who would smite me if so much as a memory of my scent wafted over them!" He lightheartedly guaranteed, smile widening further as a revitalizing breeze stirred his fur and bathed him in his rabbit's fruity scent. "But I _do_ know every fox within the Empire's borders by title, and to a lesser extent all the world's mammals! And if I have not heard their name, then they likely do not exist!"

The hours of sun only seemed to grow hotter and dryer. One especially bright afternoon, when there was but one destitute cloud on the horizon and lake's surface sparkled as though quartz embedded in stone, he and Judith paddled from the manor's small wharf to the expanse's center, where the air shimmered relentlessly in every direction.

Their feet hung over the cramped rowboat's sides, submerged in the frigid water, Nick having rolled his trouser's legs to his knees and cradled his head in his paws as an impromptu pillow. The sun and waving warmth that bathed him from eartip to tail and every sore crevice between beckoned him to doze; it was only Judith, who lay opposite him with her feet hanging by his head, and the brush of her side against his, that kept him on the edge of sleep. Not one moment did he wish to waste when it could've been better spent fashioning even the most trivial of memories with his fiance.

He allowed a toothy grin to rise on his face at that, and he moved his tail onto her chest without so much as cracking his eyes. Much to his delight, she began to brush him with the mildness of a mother cat's tongue.

Over dinner, which they enjoyed either on the red couches in Judith's suite or at the small wooden tables along the Estate's promenade, they exchanged their thoughts of poetry, literature, chivalry, language, and - most divisively - romance. Sometimes they would argue until the moon peaked overhead over the rights and wrongs of fictional beings, but every quarrel would eventually reach its inevitable end - with their bodies close and minds at ease.

"Of all the peculiarities you present, Nicholas, I shall never understand your kind's obsession with intimacy," The Princess indecisively told, distantly gazing through her suite's open window and down into the main courtyard, her ears perking on either side of his snout as she lay sprawled on one of her suite's long couches, pressed against him intimately.

"Likewise, you rabbits are too engrossed by sacrifice," He carefully scolded, grinning down at his betrothed with a translucent expression as he maneuvered his tail to enclose her chest, not daring to incur her wrath one more time tonight. "If your novels have taught me anything, it is that if I yearn for you to desire me as I do for your heart, then I must appropriately spend every moment without you in utter torment!"

"That is the toll to sweep me from my feet," She wily concurred, staring up at him with an advantageous smile as she raised a paw to fondly caress his ears. "But I must digress, for now; a poem from your lips should more than suffice to steal my love."

Nick let his gaze rise to the wide window, staring blankly at the thickets of pine trees rising above the manor's clay-tiled roof for a lasting moment as he plowed all the stanzas his mind could recall. One stood out from the throngs; a less-than-decent rhyme he'd heard from the Empire's marines that made him grin manically.

"Once did I bed with a vixen of Foxtock," He loftily quoted, his amused beam reaching further around his face when his betrothed blinked her gaze shut and raised her chin, hastening to become lost in his recitation. "Truly, she did bestow my mind a great shock! For five nights, on end, did she bounce on my coc-" **[1]**

"And _there_ is where I silence you, dumb fox," She swiftly interrupted, pressing the bridge of her nose into the underside of his muzzle, he chuckling in wordless reply, spirits as high as the sun, at the red in both her cheeks and voice.

Their wounds evaporated seemingly overnight. The yellowed mark and pink scratch on Judith's cheek faded back into her fur, leaving only a guilty memory as a reminder. The bruises strewn across his torso, too, subsided, the black eye he'd suffered struggling on for another day before his orange fur reappeared and the stiffness in his joints departing after a long night's rest. Even the pink flesh sealing the strike Lord Caer had delivered him - the same gash that had been torn time and time again - finally pained him for the last time, leaving a thin layer of fur in its wake. Relaxation had drawn the poison from all his wounds - save the cleft in his ear.

And with their healing came further adventure and sparring - both subjects making Judith bounce in excitement at their mere mentions, and he, in turn, swish his tail merrily. They ventured as far as the undertrodden trails surrounding the lake would lead them, drawing them and the unfortunate guard who'd been assigned as high as where the woods began to thin. Still, the snow-capped peaks rose ever steeper above their heads, piercing the sky and impossible to surmount without weeks of dedication.

The Emperor had adorned his residence with a small barracks, spacious enough to accommodate their escort and the guards whose duty it was to watch over the Estate. Across from that outlying structure an armory had also rose, with armaments ranging from javelins and broadswords to a field ballista loaded with barbed bolts. It was though he had prepared for a months-long siege, yet his preemption forged he and Judith's dueling far more elaborate and intricate than he'd ever could've wished for a raw recruit.

At first they practiced in a narrow, shadowy side courtyard, brawling with the other with rapiers for hours on end. It was evident to Nick that his betrothed was more a fighter than some soldiers he'd shared tents with. She was light and steady on her feet, confident in her sweeping moves and leaping lunges, accurate to a pinpoint. Her breaths were controlled, expression never revealing the truths stolen away behind it, and only when he feigned attack did she give ground.

Never did she misplace a strike on her own volition; it was her limited field experience that proved her downfall. Yet, still, she managed to topple him time and time again, his body neither as limber nor strikes as swift as they once had been.

Soon they traded the manor's cool patios and smooth stone bricks for the grassy floor and huffing air of the woods. Their new battleground granted him the advantage he so desperately wished, his betrothed not yet utilizing the terrain to her best advantage, and, in turn, faltered under the weight of his offensives.

"Come now, Carrots, we are not constrained by some ravine," He heartily taunted, reaching down towards Judith with an outstretched paw and daring smirk as she sat panting on the flattened grass, her loose blue gown stained with splotches of green and brown and sweaty chest heaving. "Your compact size represents your greatest advantage! Use it to its full extent; when I rush, pull back and step around my side before you deliver your blow."

With a curt nod she accepted his paw, expression edged in focus as he pulled her to her feet and stepped back, flexing his thighs and preparing to charge her once more. She tensed, her heels off the ground and sword to her side, and much to his pleasure she followed his instructions, sending a flash of pain up his left arm as she sped like a silhouette into his blind spot.

Not only did they take the field as opponents, but as partners in arms. Over many sweat-inducing hours they developed a technique that, when Lepidus and Captain Zaphorize requested to observe, they demonstrated with great effect. Against them the two foxes, who'd both spent easily as much time as he in the tedious tides of battle, barely landed a single blow, only wearing themselves down after fruitless attack after fruitless attack.

Judith would strike out at the both of them, darting to his front to land blows as he prepared to stand his ground. When they attempted to retaliate or encircle she would dart behind him, he essentially becoming her shield as he blocked every swordstrike they attempted to deal. When their stamina had been drained his betrothed would duck under his rapier and resume her assault. Within minutes both the Captain and Lepidus had submitted, leaning onto their knees as exhausted huffs escaped their gaping muzzles.

"To think I would live to see the day rabbits and foxes fought side by side!" Lepidus managed to exclaim, ears high and voice merry, and he and Judith exchanged a proud smile at his compliment. Together, he and this brilliant, noble rabbit of his would heal far more than their species rifts.

* * *

Two weeks rocketed by in the seconds it took for a leaf to drift to the forest's floor. It was the longest stretch of time Nick had experienced without the pressing duties of fastidious study and fatiguing command. He was lifted aloft, master of his own world here in the valley, with his betrothed as his equally uninhibited mistress.

Of all the places between the craggy ridges at either side of the lake only one rim of hills called his free will to return. In his adventurous teenage years he had frequented their steep slopes, pressed between forests and shallow trickles of water than ran past steep cliffs lined with boulders. Yet it was the view that marked the area's crowning achievement - a panoramic scene of blue, green, white, and blue once more!

"The clearing is just beyond this thicket!" He eagerly huffed to his betrothed, trailing just behind him, with a claw raised toward a nearby clump of pines, as he hiked up the inclined pathway made unsteady by rising roots and sharpened rocks.

"This better be as spectacular a view as you've made it out to be," She warily grumbled, following in his footsteps while the shade of nettles made the sunlight flicker all around them. He scoffed in mock distress at her comment, hopping onto a flat rock outcrop with his paw on his red doublet-clad chest and chin raised.

"Why, it tears at my very soul that you would not believe my most honest of descriptions!" He superfluous cried, worried gaze pleading for his fiance's mercy. She merely let slip a pointed _hmph!_ as she crossed her arms over her breast and perked a scolding eyebrow at his posture, halting before him for but a moment.

"Oh, I am aware at how far you foxes will go to impress," She quietly declared, tone as suggestive as her raised brow, and she continued her stride up the trail with her slender ears high and paws falling to rest on her tight gown's daisy-gold waistline. "Exaggeration cannot be kept out of your character in even the most trivial circumstances."

There was not a shadow of doubt in his mind that the rhythmic sway of her hips was meant to mock him, yet he still found himself grinning in both desire and affection and played along, watching her every move as he stepped into the air and hopped back down to the path. He followed at a distance, eyes trained on her, not wishing to end this little game that kept her amethysts peeking over her shoulder every few moments.

A loud scrambling from down the path drew his attention away, for an instant, ears shooting up and eyes widening in focus. The two guards assigned to them by Lepidus had lagged far behind, their steel armor and halberds flashing in the sun as they attempted, in vain, to surmount a low dirt cliff that had left them both covered in dust and panting heavily.

"Take a pause, my good sirs; we shall need no protection on this evening!" He cordially shouted out to the orange-furred duo in their tongue, the both of them darting their gazes to him and jointly nodding at his command, breathing loud sighs of relief.

Nick once more trained his emeralds on Judith with a deepening grin, ears flushed with blood now that they would have privacy at the rise's summit. She hadn't paused for him, her body patches of grey and yellow in the green and brown of the world peeking through the pine's trunks and flowering undergrowth far up the trail. Only when the hill's slope began to peter out did he reach her side again, not wishing to disturb the agreeable silence with empty banter.

The dense wood began to thin at the onset of the hill's final incline, the setting sun emerging in its full splendor in a flat clearing that divided an undisturbed view on one side and the impenetrable forest on the other.

When the trodden path finally dissipated into grass they collapsed onto their rears side by side, breaths heavy as they both stared at the sight of the valley, captivated and astounded, gazes gaping wider than a sapper's breach. The colors of the evening sky reflected on the lake's motionless water, leaving long trails of violet, orange, rose, and gold, while the green hills seemed to sway in the revitalizing breeze that ruffled his neck fur. The snowy peaks had seen the last of their white, the final runoff of last winter's toll flooding down in a score of vibrant streams that shimmered like steel.

"You were right, Nicholas," Judith lightly conceded, her wide, watery gaze entranced as though in a dream as a pleasantly ecstatic smile erupted onto her muzzle. Nick silenced her with a gentle _shh!_ , shuffling on his behind to slide his arm around her waist, cradling her leg, as his muzzle lowered to press his nose against her flattened ear.

"Give the world but a moment, my eager little bunny," He quietly scolded, eyes slipping back to the view, tail curling up his betrothed's back as he idly waited for the show to begin.

It did so with a single firefly inches away from his muzzle, its form instantaneously brightening like lighting before fading into the air without so much as a trace. It returned with a partner a few moments later, their yellow bulbs singing a synchronized duet before, once more, they faded. One by one more joined in the chorus until the hill was alight as though it were midday, the golden insects washing like a flat tide across the valley's rim before descending to the lake.

Against its midnight blue waters it was though he was witnessing the birth of the night sky, a million stars sprawled endless from end to end, an image his betrothed couldn't help but echo.

"I am seeing stars, my Nicholas," She disbelievingly breathed, expression silenced by the majesty of it all, and he, too, took a long moment to turn away from the scene to face her grateful amethysts.

"Only one has caught my eye; and she tends to be as blinding as the sun itself," He dotingly countered, a cracking grin that silently displayed all the pink in his chest rising on his snout, and a violet blush greeted him on his betrothed's puffy cheeks and falling ears.

"You are far too poetic for this world, my sly fox," She softly murmured, eyes flooded with a rose tint and her wistful lips leaning towards his as her side snuggled against him, her dress glowing gold in the insect's light.

"You know you love me, regardless, shining rabbit," He tenderly decreed, his eyes closing shut as he leaned in towards her muzzle. An insatiable desire to taste her sweet scent on his tongue rose inside him, guiding him closer and closer until he could feel the sharp, hot exhales of her breath on his nose, his tail wrapped around her chest as tight as a vine. He could hardly contain himself at the thought of spending the remainder of his life married to this fateful, magnanimous doe.

It was the rustle of bushes and earth that, for the second time that evening, drew Nick's attention away from his fiance. His ears shot skyward and gaze whirled like a gale to the clearing's entrance, where, in the shadow of the wood where seldom fireflies ventured he picked out the shapes of two vulpine figures, hulking halberds at their sides.

"Ah!" He exclaimed in surprised interest, grinning politely as he rose to his feet, suppressing the disappointment in the knowledge the duo of guards had interrupted he and his fiance's intimate instant. Judith let her irritation be known; a twitching frown on her brow as she strained to see what he did from below the waist-high grass.

"My good foxes, I thought I had given you leave!" He called out with forced merriment at the approaching silhouettes, their heaving forms and winded expressions emerging over the hill and into the dying light as they panned out across the clearing's perimeter, ears high and eyes wide.

"The Captain would have our tails if we left you unattended, my Prince," One of the guards spoke up, head bowing apologetically as his counterpart surveyed the motionless forest with careful attention.

"I suppose he would, wouldn't he?" Nick stiffly acknowledged, not daring to pursue another quest for privacy as he breathed a longing huff of air and flopped back down to his betrothed's side, her annoyed amethysts and twitching nose drawing his gaze to her.

With a wry, almost challenging smile he leaned towards her, muzzle low as his tail circled her waist once again.

"It seems that a private respite will not come so easily for our throbbing, longing minds," He suggestively murmured, ensuring the guards wouldn't hear his lewd comments by pressing his lips nearly to the inner fluff of her ear, and his white grin grew as he saw red flood her face. "We must search it out like a foreign spy..."

* * *

 **[1] Stanzas broken into 11 syllables**

 **There we go! A little more merry end, isn't it? And more romance is just beyond the horizon!**

 **A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction CH17 - February 1st**

 **Intrigue: A Zootopia Fanfiction CH1 - February 1st**


	19. Chapter Seventeen

**If you haven't read the update posted in Chapter 16, I must recommend that you do so before continuing. Upon revision I've changed the plot of the chapter drastically, more the ending than most else, so that if you haven't re-read it then this chapter's contents will be like gibberish.**

 **To those that have, let this be a brief respite to the turmoil ensuing from chapter 16's initial release. Once more, I will assure you that there will be no more sudden loss of limbs or near-death experiences for quite some time. That is not to say that the tension won't remain low forever - in this very chapter your heart may skip a beat or two, but -** ** _again_** **\- there will be no surprise fight sequences for quite some time.** **Quickly I'd like to point out that the updates to both my stories are a little skewed this month. The turmoil of last chapter's release sent me back a few days - enough to interfere with my usual schedule. I need a few days rest to plan out a coherent plot for _Intrigue_ opposed to a loose chain of events and hammer-out my intentions for _AFISA_. Hope you all don't mind!**

On a more serious note, I'd like to extend a massive thanks to those who reached out to me in these past weeks. The massive outpouring of support and offers for assisting my writing has been beyond phenomenal. Had it not been for all of you, I can't say whether I would be as ecstatic to write as I am now!

 **With that I leave you to it!**

 _...but one last thing. This is my first chapter that I'm declaring NSFW for romantic opposed to violent content. If you have a problem with reading this, skip down to the first line break._

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The days after that starry night on the hilltop saw a bracing breeze and a grey sky sweep the valley. Judy found herself trapped within the cozy walls of her suite from sunrise to set, the meager range of attire the Estate presented to someone of her stature not faring well in the drizzly weather. Her energy had built to a boiling point by sunset of the first day, the manor's books written in a tongue understandable to her all piled on and around her couch's circular side-table, their spines bent and pages covered in her pawprints.

She found - much to her surprised delight - enjoyment in the company of Lepidus, the only fox aside from her betrothed that could speak with her given the barriers of language. For hours on end she listened to the exploits of his adventurous life; from the month he spent as the scribe of a tribe of nigh-feral wolves to his escape across the desert from the scimitars of pirates. In return she recounted tales of courtly life from her youth, never as exciting, yet the fox still listened with pointed ears and an attentive stare.

Their encounters were few and far between, the Arctic Fox's duties as the Estate's administrator seeing him away for most days, sometimes in anticipation for a feast he'd eagerly planned in celebration of their visitation, leaving her in her suite - alone, yet not secluded - with her betrothed.

Nicholas - that damned, sly fox - hadn't helped suppress her longing for the outdoors and ever-growing need for seclusion. Every word he uttered alluded to some form of debauchery, making their conversations a thicket of thorns that ground beneath her gown with ever more intensity.

Their final week by the lake ticked by under such yearning, blithe circumstances. She and Nicholas made the most of every moment despite their pent desires, doting chatter and playful insults leaving their mouths until the night bloomed and forced him back to his own bed. She very nearly rushed after him on more than one occasion, only able to keep herself idle at the sight of his superfluously swishing tail with a claw digging into her palm. Just like he had whispered all-too-suggestively upon their arrival, with that blush-inducing grin of his; they may tease, but do no further.

It was the 'further' she discovered herself craving as much as he - she couldn't help but fold her ears and bounce her leg at the idea of streaking his fur with her scent once more. With every foggy day she woke up listening to raindrops fall steadily on her balcony, her appetite, and impatience, flowed with even greater ferocity.

On their last day in the manor, as the sounds of the lake lapping against the shoreline faintly entered her lazily sprawled ears, her amethysts finally blinked open to sunlight.

"Sweet cheese!" She dumbfoundedly breathed, hardly believing her vision as she shot from her white linen sheets and rushed through her balcony's glass doors, her body enveloped by the cool early morning air.

In every direction the sky was the pink of dawn, the repressive expanse of clouds from days prior an unpleasant memory. The peaks of the mountains were once more coated in a thin layer of snow, a chilling breeze rolling down from their icy peaks that reminded the soul autumn would begin soon in these lands.

With her mind in an excited frenzy she shot back indoors and across her suite, racing in little more than her light grey nightgown between the servants carrying dishes and chairs past her room's entrance in preparation for the valedictory feast Lepidus would host. Without so much as a knock she bolted into her betrothed's suite, ears low and gaze vital as she sped to the side of his bed and shook his bare shoulders.

"Nicholas! The sun has risen on this morn!" She impatiently whispered in his flattened ear, her tapping foot not having the patience to see him rise naturally, and her paws only retreated to lean over him when he finally rolled towards her, his sheets bunching around his waist as his tail curled.

His dense fur was tussled by the breeze sweeping through a lake-ward facing window he'd left unshut, and her gaze was drawn, like a moth to a candle's flame to his tight chest and muscular arms. As he rose to a sitting position, eyes squeezed shut and paws pulling each other in a skyward stretch, his cream-colored tuft of chest fur struck sunlight and bedsheets fell to the edge of his groin; forcing her ears to bristle and cheeks flush with crimson as she questioned whether or not he wore anything aside from his pelt.

His fiery green gaze blinked open steadily with fascination and anticipation brimming, staring at her loose dress for a moment before they shot wide and flew towards his suite's high windows that coated the room a shade of blue.

"It seems whatever prayers we uttered in our slumber have come to light!" He jovially snickered, tail swaying to and fro with unsuppressed delight as his emeralds returned to flicker over her face.

"If only we'd prayed sooner!" She affably replied, taking a step away from him with a flick of her ear and a skip in her step, eyes floating between his face and exceedingly revealed lower regions as she waited for him to rise. "But better a late delivery of miracle than none whatsoever! Now hurry; the woods call our names!"

"And what do they wish us to partake in, my dearest Judith?" Nicholas unexpectedly pressed, voice and expression rife with tease as he raised an eyebrow and leaned onto his elbow, his muzzle sitting snugly on his fist as he hearkened to hear her reply. Her cheeks became caught in a blush as her stare bored into his overtly alluring form, her abubble scent noticeably sweeping the air, yet she hadn't the confidence to press her desires into words. Such debauchery remained sealed behind her lips, her courtly demeanor forcing embarrassment to flare like fire beneath her bristled fur.

"You know fully well what I wish to do with you," She hastily murmured, ears plastered to her stiff back, apprehension eating away at her concerted aura as the shuffles of attendants echoed from the hallway. If they were discovered, she'd never forgive him for such a slip. Nicholas giggled at her response with a toothy grin after a long stare and exploratory sniff, rolling to the far side of his bed and rising to sit on the mattress, legs hanging onto the floor with his sheets covering his orange lower-half.

"We shall reunite by the Manor's gates before the sun rises entirely," He firmly told, sending her a desirous blink and another stretch to stir her to action, and with a swift nod and racing chest she whirled back to her own dressers - making careful certain no wandering eyes would catch her bolting from her betrothed's bedside - stripping herself of her nightgown and slipping into a sapphire and silver-trimmed silken dress that fit tighter than her steel cuirass and bracers.

On some mornings it took her an hour to appropriately groom and prepare herself for the day, but now, under the priceless proposition of spending time secluded with her betrothed, she was ready in mere minutes. The Estate was quiet aside from the servants too preoccupied presiding over their own duties to notice her slip down into the main courtyard, hurrying around its shadowy veranda without so much as a sound.

Just beyond its barely-opened gates Nicholas stood in waiting, his arms folded over his regal red and gold-embroidered doublet as he casually leaned against the manor's sandstone wall, eyes gazing off distantly into the forest's depths. She didn't dare call out to him out of fear some mammal would hear, and instead leaped up to peck him on the cheek to signal her arrival, spirits higher than the windiest of peaks as his surprised emerald gaze swung down to her.

'You rabbits have such a way with subtleties.' He wryly jested, mouthing his words as he pushed himself into the center of the track leading from the manor's gates and into the deeper wood, vitality and haste in the haze radiating from his form. She snickered as she whisked past him, beckoning gaze cast over her raised shoulder as she hastened down the dim path.

'You are a poor teacher in that regard!' She affectionately retorted, her heart spinning circles as he rolled his doubtful eyes at her remark and drew to her side, tail snaking around her waist as he took lead of their direction.

They shot through the forest at a brusque pace, taking offshoot pathways and lesser-trekked inclines up through the hills; reminders of civilization fading away until the world was once more untouched.

"I am beginning to see Autumn in the trees, and feel it in the air," She remarked offhandedly, her fur stirred as a cool wind rushed along the cliff they traveled beside, sending waves of her betrothed's enticing scent over her.

"Up here the winter is unending and tough," Nicholas warmly explained, keeping pace alongside the cliff face as it turned sharply upwards, towards higher pines, as tides of heat stormed beneath her dress at his overpowering scent. "Sometimes snow does coat the ground in the later days of spring!"

"How pleasant," She gruffly commented, impatience once more nagging at her paws, her eyes looking up from the ground at her fiance's swaying tail with unbridled hunger. She wouldn't be able to suffer delay for any longer - she'd mark him out here, in the open for all to witness - if that was her only option.

"How much further do you expect us to travel?" She eventually asked in frustration between curt, deep breaths, bending over with paws planted on her knees as she stared at the ever-approaching summits of white. The last rows of pines before the hills turned to naught but rocky outcrops and grass was close at paw, the sun having risen so that the world was a warm yellow, yet Nicholas still climbed the path towards the chilling blue sky.

"The greater the distance we place between us and the Estate, the longer it shall take for Lepidus to trace our scent," He called back in answer, taking a brief respite beside a boulder as he waited for her to return to his side, and with a disgruntled grumble she shot uphill. "Besides, our destination is just beyond this next ridge!"

She hadn't an idea of to which secluded outlook he was guiding her, but with a submissive nod she allowed him to take the lead once more. A bone-chilling wind picked up as they hiked up yet another steeper slope, beyond the forest's highest green crowns, where the path they'd trekked along dissipated into the windswept grass. Ventral impatience pulled at her breast as she turned to stare back down into the valley, only catching sight of the last ridge they'd surmounted and the endless sky, the lake a hazy strip of blue far below.

Her jaw remained clenched as she followed in Nicholas's footsteps, paws curling around her ears that draped her shoulders and teeth chattering as a piercing gale ripped through her body, her fingers and toes numbing in the freezing air and the faint layer of snow that coated the ground. With a vexed frown she stared up at her betrothed, still charging towards the mountain's craggy peak that jutted skyward like a broken fang, keeping close to a shallow, steaming stream that ran alongside them.

"You've taken us all this way so we may mark amidst frost and frigid air?" She questioned in irritable confusion, staring into the turbulent water for an instant but jumping back from its edge when it splashed at her, her feet barely avoiding its glacial touch. A growl slipped from her lips as she looked back towards her fiance, demanding an explanation, but his red-clad form had disappeared through a tight, jagged ravine from which the creek flowed.

"Nicholas, halt your advance!" She loudly commanded, throwing herself after the faint silhouette of his tail at the far end of the crevasse. Feeling returned to her red nose as she pressed after his scent, the wind's numbing chill no longer howling in this narrow refuge, yet she still held both her paws against either side of the ravine and kept her attention on her surroundings, making careful sure she wouldn't accidentally slip into the stream's icy flow.

"Dumb fox," She angrily muttered with a flick of her ear as she hopped onto a sloping boulder, striding with a hastened pace from the chasm's end and into a wide, bright cavern almost entirely filled with steam. The stream's expansive source stood before her; a deep pool of bubbling water that stretched from her feet to the grotto's opposite wall, bordered by seldom dry spaces aside from the flat rocky floor she stood on. The bright sky was overhead once more, illuminating the pool a wintry blue and drawing the steam that blew from it skywards; but she had little time to revel in the precious sight.

"Looking for me, Carrots?" A sultry voice lightly pressed from the blue, and Judy turned around herself twice over, a confused frown rising on her brow, before she finally caught sight of its source. Nicholas - to her dismay and horror - was staring up at her, emeralds easy and arms crossed inches in front of her toes, his orange and white fur bathed in the steam and water.

"What are you doing?!" She fearfully hissed, falling to her knees and pulling at his forearm with both her paws, anxiety having seized her thoughts solid and ears tight against her bitterly chilled dress. "You'll freeze if you remain in there for so much as an instant longer!"

"Will I?" He doubtfully retorted, sending a splash of water onto her with a sharp flick of his tail. She flinched away from the droplets, bracing her body for its icy touch, but to her surprise when it struck her shoulder she was suddenly coated in a layer of warmth. It took a moment for her dumbfounded expression to fade, realization sweeping over like a wave as she stuck her paws under the bubbling surface of the water, her cold fingers burning in its absolving heat.

"You didn't think I'd lead you all this way so you could witness my slow demise, did you?" He gently scolded with an amused frown, slowly tossing his head back and forth with a chiding tilt. "Am I really that thoughtful a mammal?"

"Hardly!" She scoffed, her eyes hastily darting back to her paws as she clenched and relaxed them, the heat soaking to her bones and beckoning her deeper. "I was merely unsuspecting of this."

"A pleasure to hear I am still capable of surprising," Nicholas sultrily murmured, his voice nearly as humid as the air, as he pushed away from the rock and raised to a stand, his soaked chest, deliberately puffed, bathed in steam and his tail circling his waist so its tip barely covered his groin. "Now, would you care to join me, or stand there with your tail freezing?"

Judy felt her cheeks become loaded with crimson as she scoured his temptuous build, her yearning for his taste reemerging in uncomfortableness under her constricting blue gown. Her gaze darted to an elevated rock where he'd draped his red doublet and trousers, her paws itching to tear off her waistband, but after a long moment's stare she returned to her fiance's alluring expression that both demanded and begged for her with as little as a raised eyebrow.

"Are you certain it is a wise choice to undress?" She apprehensively questioned, her lustful eyes unable to stop themselves from once more studying every inch of his tight form, heart beating with such intensity she soon expected to hear her rib cage shatter under its assault.

"This place is untraceable, thanks to the winds," Nicholas heartily reassured, luringly wading through the water that barely lapped against his waistline in an attempt to draw her in; by God himself, from his delicious smell alone, which the steam carried past her nostrils, she was convinced. "Our scents will stay on the grass for but a few minutes. We're as alone as the most devout anchorite."

"Then spare me your prying eyes for a moment, my Prince," She feverishly chirped, pulling at her gown's shoulders as she limbered herself with tugs and turns. Nicholas smirked as he waded away into the pool's deeper center, his sopping tail sticking straight behind him like a stick protruding from a pond and his gaze trained on the far wall.

"Don't leave me waiting, my Princess," He warily purred with a flick of his ear as he faded into the steam, diving below the water's surface with his tail floating behind him for an extra instant. Judy felt her breaths quicken as her chassis was freed, her gown falling to her hips as the cold air bit at her exposed chest.

Every ounce of courtly decency she'd built over the last twenty-odd years screamed for her to clothe herself in her apparel and be done with this, yet her ears were deaf and mind intransigent to their outcries. She needed this illecebrous fox as much as the brumal air she breathed; to carry his mark and in return for him to bear hers was beyond the most romantic of gestures. It was an action that was not so lightly shaken from thought.

Her paws pulled her dress to her feet, and with ever-broiling haste she stepped from it and hung it beside her betrothed's attire. With a final tug she stood in naught save her fur, tossing her undergarments onto her gown as she stepped to the water's edge. With a shaky breath she dipped her toes into its warm, blue depths, bathing her fur of the last holdouts of dissent.

The mist parted for the instant needed for her attentive senses to catch a swathe of orange, her betrothed's pheromones that danced on her tongue drawing her into the hot pool with parted ears. She landed with a splash, her cold skin burning uncomfortably in the heat for a sudden moment before warmth seeped under her fur, the embracing touch making her feet bounce in pleasure.

She almost danced towards the faint trace of her fox across the enclosed cavern, her toes barely able to reach the pool's stony floor, the water lapping against her chin as she fought to hold her nose above. When she could no longer feel the smoothed ground she paddled with her paws, straining to keep her head from being submerged as a strong current tugged at her feet. Water sputtered from her lips as her strength began to falter, panic flooding her thoughts and her strokes becoming desperate.

In a moment no longer than a flash of lightning she was afloat once more, a strong force pressing on her back. Familiar paws wrapped around her midsection and guided her, to a lean, into the touch of fur and muscle, while two treading legs aided her feet and a groomed tail pressed into her rear.

"Your limited experience in the sport of swimming betrays you, Judith," Nicholas gently chided, his muzzle resting on her shoulder and his cheeks raised in a toothy smirk as he unhurriedly tread them back towards the pool's edge. "Always the headstrong rabbit."

"That I am," She nervously chuckled, wide eyes trained downwards, glued to their bodies. Her chest fluttered at the press, from the base of her ears to the sides of her ankles, of her betrothed. His soft embrace that managed still to echo tender strength sent her mind whirling with affection, her body frozen against him, unable to move except deeper into his fur.

Her arms snaked around his own as they drew her into his chest, her breaths quickening in time with her already thumping heart as she lowered her burning hips into his exposed groin, his brushing tail preventing their privates from touching. Nearly trembling, she dug her chin against his neck fur, drawing a line of her scent up the side of his head as the underside of his snout tussled with her thin dewlap, ruffling the wet layer of puffy fur. Her nostrils were drowning in his smell, senses overcharged by his touch as she buried her chin deeper into his shoulders.

This was what had spurned her to impatience and frustration, the sole force that had driven her mad with desire; this sarcastic, sly, seductive fox. How she could've curbed herself knowing a mammal with such stardust was mere inches from her body she'd not the faintest idea.

Shivers of joy, the likes of which she'd never experienced prior, began to shake her from ear-tip to toe as her entranced gaze snapped shut and she rolled onto her stomach, her arms snaking around her fox's back. Their chest fur rubbed in the most perfect ways, tying itself into binding knots, drawing her deeper into the pink veil that circled her thoughts and forcing her chin back into his neck with renewed zeal.

Love! A primitive, unrestrained voice squeaked under her skull, and she barely nodded in agreement as her groin rolled into her betrothed's, straining to feel him as his tail did her. Love this fox!

She hardly noticed as Nicholas pulled her onto his lap, his body resting against the pool's stone edge as his paws snuck around her lower back to steady her. Her marking did not ease for so much as an instant, a lecherous frown entrenching itself on her brow as his covetous scent embedded itself beneath her neck fur.

Who was to openly deny them the intimate acts beyond marking? Here she writhed, her nude form pressing against her love's fur, not so much as a mouse's soul anywhere near their embrace, the fire of their passions making the water seem frozen once more. Only the pledge of chastity until marriage held her on a leash from slipping completely into that debauchery. Yet now, drunk off the predatory scent hanging like a mist in the air, she even began to call that into debate.

"Ease your squirming, Princess!" Nicholas suddenly cried as he leaned his muzzle away from her chinning, her eyes flashing open to be greeted by his blushing grin and two wide, albeit heated, emeralds. "There is marking, and then lascivious grinding!"

"My apologies, my Prince!" She sensually panted in reply, the sight of that foxy face inviting a devious smile onto her muzzle as her paw slipped around his waist, guiding his tail from separating their soaked groins. "I've seemed to have blurred their borders like the foolish bunny I am. Maybe, would you care to teach me the difference?"

"What?" He awkwardly laughed off, his face nearly as red as his folded ears and eyes that hurriedly glanced off, yet she perked an eyebrow as her paw descended steadily through the water to his privates, his escalating scent betraying his true wishes. "Judith, now is hardly the time for such lewd-"

"Now is a stellar time for such indecent activities!" She swiftly countered, tone skewed to sound offended as her ears shot high and eyes fell to stare beneath the water. Her heartbeat failed as her fingers ran along the length of his privates, the stiff, shifting membrane urging her crotch to approach and confirming her course of action.

"Not a soul nearby, save ours," She amorously noted, an unrestrained giggle slipping past her lips as she caught sight of her betrothed's shocked expression, mouth agape and downward-cast gaze as expansive as the sky overhead while her paw continued its assault on his rock-hard item. "Whatever we may pursue shall not leave this cavern in sight, smell, or sound; only memory. Our memory. I can hardly express how much I crave such an experience with you, my lovely Prince."

"Carrots..." Nicholas breathlessly sputtered, eyes laced with hunger and reluctance alike as his unsteady paws wrapped around her hips, inciting her grin to turn to a full-blown smile. "This is hardly proper for a mammal of your prominence."

"As it is for you!" She concurred, her brow lifting accusingly as she steadily rocked her lower half against him, pushing back against his grip, paws snaking around his tensed shoulder blades, keeping him in place. "Yet your virginity, if I accurately recall, expired long ago. Mine still remains, albeit precariously close to failing..."

"It is not my right to steal something so precious to your character, Judith," Nicholas murmured, his rocky conscience visibly torn between courtly etiquette and the true desire that bubbled beneath. Her heart throbbed for the sincere worry in his tone and honest apprehension in his nervous gaze, a pink blush rising in her cheeks as she leaned her muzzle towards his ear, delivering another mark in the process.

"It is not stealing if I wish for you to take it," She dotingly whispered, holding no quarter as the full front of her body buried into his fur, her hips continuing their deep strokes into his groin. A raunchy shiver shook her to her very soul as his arms wrapped around her lower back and pulled her deeper against him, his hips beginning to mirror hers as their sensitive privates ground like grindstones.

A high-pitched sigh of pleasure erupted from her mouth as their eurythmic rotations slowly sped, their groins separating momentarily before colliding once again, each time her spine arching that little more as her curved tail protruded above the water with her betrothed's not far behind. She submerged her chin into his healed shoulder, his wet fur tickling her nose as she breathed his scent, her breast shaking at the affection afflicting her like poison.

Her arms tightened around his neck and eyes closed shut, all her focus on the feeling of his stiff privates bucking against her soft, swollen exterior. Every muscle in his form was flexed, from his rocky core to wide chest, his raw strength making her tremble in submissive rapture. A frightened, inviting squeak shot from an untamed part of her being as he let loose a sonorous growl, her gaze cracking open just enough to catch sight of his white maw drawn back in a primal snarl.

Her heart skipped a dozen beats, then a dozen more, all her natural instincts telling her to flee and hide from his predatory pheromones that had spelled doom for so many of her species. Her eyes fluttered shut again, her body tensing as she pulled herself close enough to feel his thumping heartbeat through her ribs. She wouldn't let go of this fox with such ease; not yet.

Bliss approached like a coming summer storm, their sensual thrusts escalating until the friction between their fur and the heat of the water threatened to boil them alive. She wanted nothing more than to feel his skin enclosed within her, yet at the orgasmic pinnacle of their embrace, when their hips took a sudden respite and she positioned her entry on the end of his package, they both hesitated.

She hadn't the faintest idea why she remained motionless, eyes infatuated and breaths raspy as she stared in awe down at their locked groins, the penetration she yearned for having yet to rear its head. She was amply prepared for the intense feeling of being filled by the mammal she loved, but, to her distress, still remained unable to force herself onto him.

A gentle paw guided her panicked gaze and bristling ears back up to her fiance. His short, sharp pants were stressed far beyond her own, his facial fur soaked not solely by water but sweat in conjunction, yet he managed to send her a reassuring smirk as he guided her into a devoted hug, his muzzle resting on her upper back as his tail slipped between their crotches.

"Sly rabbit," He wearily teased, paws wrapping around her lower back as he leaned back into the pool's rocky wall without wrenching their embrace apart. "Sly, hormonal rabbit. That is enough excitement for one day, methinks."

"I- I- I don't comprehend why- why-" She frantically started in apology, expression furious at her inability to mount and seal their arousing experience, but he silenced her insecurities with a careful shh that coerced her to bury her muzzle into his neck and curl her feet around his calves.

"Let us save some climax for our wedding night," He wryly suggested, raised cheeks bunching against her neck, and she meagerly nodded in thankful gratitude as a fresh wave of twitching heat radiated from her groin, forcing her to withdraw from his arms with a long, half-lidded blink.

"Okay," She tiredly accepted, nearly losing herself within his love-drowned emeralds that coaxed her to return to his paws, striking at his sopping chest with her chin, vigor returning to her muscles. "But I am hardly finished with you yet, you slick fox."

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Begin SFW Reading here

The afternoon sun bathed the world a pleasant orange on their return to the Estate. Their journey down the mountain's exposed slopes was slow, but deliberately so - a romantic stroll against the warm green of leaves had stolen their hearts and exhausted muscles alike.

Nick reveled in the sun's heat, his glowing fur flowing like fire in the breeze that ruffled the hillside and his fluttery heartbeat racing at the touch of his betrothed, whose fingers intertwined with his like vines between stone. She wordlessly blushed as he glanced down at her raised cheeks, perking an eyebrow at their traded scents and the lust that led them to attempt the debaucherous. Such a memory he would hardly be able to suppress whenever he caught wind of the eager rabbit that tugged at his heartstrings, besting him at his own pastime as though a minstrel.

Captain Zaphorize waited for their arrival at the manor's gates with a half-dozen of his lieutenants surrounding him. The swift fox, still adorned in plate armor, ushered forth the world's reality and shook the pink veil from their loosened thoughts.

He remained especially indignant and disgruntled by their excursion, his voice firm and impatient while he spoke in hushed words and mannerisms, including the subtle lashing of his tail. Despite his own reassurances that they'd been in no danger the fox insisted that he maintain a detachment of guards wherever they went, or else - he claimed - the Emperor would have his head chewed off.

Accepting he wouldn't be able to shake the vehement soldier without some sort of divine intervention, Nick sighed in defeat, sending a long blink to his betrothed's begging gaze and limp ears. They wouldn't be able to share a moment of intimacy until they were once more secured behind the palace's thick stone walls.

Lepidus, thankfully, was the inverse of the Captain's vexation. He was too involved with the final stages of preparing a banquet he'd wished to host in honor of their visit to inquire where they'd disappeared. A friendly nod was all he greeted them with as he motioned to servants rushing about with tapestries and tablecloths in paw, adorning the manor's main hall for a local affair, but he paused for a moment with his twitching nose sniffing the scent wafting off them. His betrothed's cheeks as red as a polished ruby, even he blushed when the Arctic Fox sent him a half-lidded grin.

The morning's heated action turned the afternoon - spent resting in the lazy sunlight for the feast's commencement - a shade more relaxed for the both of them. They leaned against each other on his betrothed's suite's scarlet couch, a dry, warm doublet of white and gold on his chest and a silken gown of emerald and silver on hers. They hardly spoke, the both of them too involved in their books to risk conversation.

Nick found himself drawn in by the poems of Reynard the Red, a fox whose exploits in trickery had seen him remembered a master of guile, renowned even among the least foolhardy foxes. The ancient, stiff pages were filled to the brim with color and illustrations depicting his swindles and rouses, some of which were as lecherous as they were devious. A humored snort emerged from his chest as he read the punchline of a fairly risque tale - involving a dead trout and a pent guardsman - but as his paws shut the book his ears perked and eyes widened at its back cover.

Painted upon the heavy leaf and surrounded by a golden ring was a fox that appeared very much like himself. It wasn't Reynard the Red, whose rose-red coat betrayed him, but a tall fox of his build, flame-colored fur and all.

He tilted his head in curiosity as he studied the stoic figure, nude save for a loincloth and a bloodied broadsword. Their faces were remarkably, nigh disturbingly, alike, right down to the cleft in his ear - but the fox's arms and legs did not appear to be of flesh. Rather, they appeared mechanical, with mechanisms mixing with flesh in a monstrous harmony, a sight of kit's nightmares.

He smiled the longer he stared at the details, overcome with amusement at the apparent similarities of this fox and him. With a chuckle he leaned towards Judith, who'd shifted to lean on the couch's opposite arm, yet he stopped short as his merry eyes rose to meet her.

She sat with her legs extended out towards him and stiffened spine upright, her frowning, focused gaze scouring the walls of text of a tediously complex work named Stratagem of Siege that rest in her lap with nearly the same size as a boulder in a creek. Her amethysts drew him in, like a fog at sea, back to the morning's adventure in the hot steam.

"So this is what a Princess intent on peace spends her free time studying," He affably jested, tossing his novel onto a nearby table with a guiding flick of his paw, and with a wide smirk he shifted on his rear towards her staunch expression with his tail tickling the tip of her nose. "The arts of war."

"If I'm to be a competent Empress, it'd be in my interests to understand the attitudes and mentality of your fox's history in addition to my own, would it not?" She unflinchingly questioned with a smirk, an eyebrow perking as her paws snapped the book shut between his tail, and he withdrew from her muzzle with a sharp yelp and darted to his feet. "This was the only novel within my comprehension of your shifty kind's tongue that references such."

"I thought we'd moved past generalizing our kinds!" He exclaimed, cradling his bristling tail in his paws with a pained snarl, but his irritation couldn't sustain itself for long before his eyes shifted back to his betrothed with a stern yet affection frown. "If you truly desire to further your understanding of my extraordinarily sly species, then I've word that our graciously reserved host has extended invitations to the bourgeois from neighboring hamlets. They are as blunt and honest as they come - for foxes."

"Then with them I shall exchange ad nauseam," She confidently decided, sliding her shut book onto the couch's cushiony seat as she leaned forward onto her knees, her ears flattening as her absorbed gaze rose to the wide sky beyond her suite's patio doors. "Let us hope that my speech is as fair as it has been in practice."

A flood of vindictive deviance surged beneath Nick's fur as his fingers withdrew from fluffing out his half-flattened appendage. Heat fluctuated as though a tide as his mind ventured back to the morning's events, his half-lidded gaze unable to stop itself from imagining Judith as she sat now, dressed in naught save her soaking grey and white fur as she perched atop his... em, redwood; knees buckling and paws clutching his shoulders for dear life.

"I would be more concerned with finishing the conversation, if I were you, Carrots," He wryly jabbed, smirk widening to a humored grin as her interest instantaneously simmered to outrage in her blushing cheeks and clenched jaw. Apprehension swept him like a flood when she shot to her feet with dangerous speed, muscles tensed and claws extended, and he warily backed towards the balcony's opened doors.

There was murder in her reddened amethysts, an emotion so raw he found his mind frozen in utter terror and regret and a voice whispering for him to run. In a flash he made a dash for the balcony's safety, but hardly managed a step before a weight crashed into his midsection, sending him to the floor with a thud as a soft paw clasped his snout shut.

Lepidus raised the evening's first toast of wine when the last of the sunlight faded behind the mountains and servants, with torches in paw, illuminated every corner of the vault-like hall. The celebration was arranged much in the same way the fateful feast only a few weeks prior had - with he and the Princess in addition to their host situated on a high table that overlooked rows of nobles and veterans - albeit on a scale of far less grandeur. To his relief the orderly Captain Zaphorize was spending the evening with his guards, scattered around the edges of the hall, ensuring their safety without intruding. There were no more than thirty foxes seated in the long room, all lighthearted and delighted by his and Judith's presence alike, not so much as a passing whiff of vexation of the war that'd torn their kinds hanging in the frenzied scents.

The very air had a vulpine feel, with the smells and sounds nearly convincing his perked ears and flared nostrils that he was in his kithood once more. The enormous cache of dishes the estate's chefs had cooked for the occasion sat piled like a bountiful harvest that he could not resist and only divulge in; tastes of all kinds filled his growling stomach, from smoked trout and grilled leeks to ground carrots and, by mountains his favorite, blueberry tarts. Even his betrothed stuffed her cheeks with food, neither of them having had so much a sniff of it since last supper. Judging by her satisfied, vital gaze she was enjoying herself as much as he, her only complaint of the local wine's tart flavor, which Lepidus addressed by sending a young Arctic fox to fetch an imported bottle from a cellar.

"Had I not known better I would think you the sovereign of these lands!" Nick merrily mumbled, leaning towards Lepidus with his eyes entranced by the colorful tapestries and banners hung on the hall's stone columns and his wide smile facing his betrothed. She sat listening with careful attention, her ears straight like reeds, to a pair of foxes - one a dark red, like he, and the other white-pelted - she'd summoned before her who had happily obliged in recounting their travels across the Empire's southern ports.

"The only king of a fox is Emperor Canus," Lepidus honorably added, a grin alight with sarcasm on his muzzle as his lively gaze darted to meet his, and his paw brought his silver chalice to his lips as he sipped a drink of the crimson wine within. "But I daresay these 'noble' Electors would disagree!"

"How has the Empire fared in recent days, since the Emperor deposed them from power?" Nick inquired, genuine curiosity arising beneath his fur as he realized word from the south had been awfully quiet since the war's end, and his stiff ears perked higher when the light in Lepidus's eyes faded dim and a weary sigh parted his muzzle.

"There have been grumbles of revolt, yet that is hardly irregular for mammals of their prestige," He warily muttered, distant gaze focused on the hall's opposite end and cup motionless beside his muzzle, and as he spoke on Nick felt a frown furrow his brow. "I've not heard of any open schemes or preachers of dissent, but such are best hidden from earshot. Only a fool would assume the Electors and their houses would willingly legitimize direct Imperial administration of their domains; but the Emperor knows this. The bureaucrats and governors he's substituted in their places from the Channel to Volstein have sparked animosity among their ranks, for they're easing the burdens of tax and steadily gaining the loyalty of the urban foxes."

"And what of the routine fox?" He curtly pressed, his stern face leaning marginally closer to the Arctic fox, who only turned to him with refreshed enthusiasm. "What of their response to the peace, and the Electors?"

"Look before you, Prince Wilde, and stare upon the answer!" Lepidus eagerly laughed, extending a proud arm that swept over the celebratory scene all about them, and Nick followed his paw down to the foxes below. His trepidation flowered into a renewed sense of ease as he listened to their casual parleys and merry gossip and watched their plates and cups empty down their throats.

"The bourgeois and countrymammals are certainly won over by your marriage to Princess Hopps, as well as every fox who's suffered mistreatment at Mars's bloody grip, which is certainly a great many!" Lepidus merrily elaborated, his deep smirk becoming a shade more shallow and serious as he lowered his chalice onto the purple tablecloth. "The cities are mixed bag of miscreants and loyalists, however. I'd steer clear of any town south of the Aar valley; your only guarantee of safety is Wien, and even there turmoil rears its head on occasion."

"Until the vengeful spirits of the rebellious are put to rest and the spines of these vipers who speak against this initiative severed, the Empire will remain in this uneasy limbo," He ruminatively declared, the merriment in his expression all but shallow as he stared down at his half-eaten platter. "Canus must look southward, if he's to strengthen his grip over peace."

"I shall ensure he does his best to do so," Nick reassured, his voice as resolute as his smile and stare, and his diligence was driven to fresh heights when the Arctic fox shifted his heavy, experienced gaze back to his. "And if he fails, no matter how improbable, I shall guarantee with my own two paws that violence will not again mar our species, nor that of Judith's. By my honor, I will make it so."

"I'm afraid such a choice will be out of your paws, Nicholas, if it should become so dire," Lepidus seriously told, sending him a slow, wary blink as though unable to believe his promise, but Nick hadn't the time to ponder on his foreshadowing words before the Arctic fox's spirits raised along with his cheeks as a visibly exhilarated servant approached the table with a tall glass bottle in his paws. "Ah! The Beardeaux wine! And just in time, for my cup is as dry as my throat!"

"As you requested, my Lord," The pale-furred attendant politely confirmed with a quick bow of his panting muzzle. Nick grinned as his old friend accepted the bottle with unrestricted glee, his tongue tasting the air and his eyebrows high as he read the labels and dates plastered onto its side.

"You've always been a whore for the finer things," He reflectively quipped with a perked brow, tail snaking around his chair's leg as Lepidus scoffed at his crude comment, frowning and sending his servant speeding across the hall with a dismissive flick of his ear.

"Wine is my bride, if that is what you mean," The Arctic fox scoffed, glancing over the bottle for another moment before he surrendered it to his paws, his respectful gaze shifting to a figure hidden out of view. "But it is only fair if Princess Hopps is the first to judge this selection, given how great her own thirst remains."

"She'd have my tail if I were to withhold this from her," Nick warmly agreed, chest weightless as he turned towards his betrothed, sitting on his opposite side and still engaged with the two foxes hastily chatting before her. Their conversation - although it sounded more like an argument over a trivial deal - was packed with vocabulary she undoubtedly couldn't comprehend, yet she leaned onto her elbows, her dress nearly brushing against the sauces of her platter, straining to hear above the din of the room as her studious albeit puzzled gaze followed the merchant's lips.

"Sorry to intrude into your tale, my fair Princess, but would you care for a drink of imported wine?" He courteously butted in, drawing his fiance's gaze away from the pair below, and a small smirk took hold of his muzzle as he feigned to read the bottle's linen label. "You prefer fish flavored, do you not?"

"Very amusing Nicholas, but I doubt our host would allow you to serve me such a repulsive concoction," Judith heinously scolded, eyes brimming with trickery, and she turned down to the foxes below with a formal expression as her rear lowered back into her padded seat. "I must ask you take leave for a moment, my Sers, but I do wish to hear the conclusion to your exploits. Please, return when you wish."

The two foxes bowed their heads in gratitude, taking a brief respite from their heated exchange that only flared up with greater ferocity when they were once more seated at the busy table below. Nick stifled a chuckle when Judith let slip a breath of relief, her shoulders sagging along with her ears as she held out her silver chalice, and with two claws he popped off the bottle's loosened cork with ease.

"I must express my sincere thanks, Nicholas," She courteously sighed, and his ears straightened attentively as he focused on pouring the overpowering wine into her glass, the affection in her amethysts warming the side of his face. "I am as parched as a summer stream after eating that almond paste."

"Then I'll be raring to pour you another glass," He affably declared, filling his own cup until the crimson liquid nearly overflowed, in stark contrast to her chalice he'd purposefully left half-full, and with a curious spark his stare shifted to his right. "For you, Lepidus?"

The Arctic fox's attention had been drawn away by Captain Zaphorize, the swift fox holding his head low as he spoke to him in hushed and audibly demanding words until his eyes rose to meet his own quizzical emeralds.

"Certainly, my Prince," Lepidus stiffly answered, flicking an annoyed ear at the Captain hovering like an impatient statue behind as he bowed his head apologetically. "But I'm afraid the Captain wishes to speak to you for a brief moment."

"Then let us not keep the Princess waiting for her drink," He lightheartedly commanded with haste as he rose to his feet, irritation blooming like a cloud beneath his fur at being called away, but the feeling moved on as quickly as it had formed when Judith rolled her eyes and scoffed at his quip. For her sake he'd make this quick.

"Please refrain from downing the whole bottle, you greedy rabbit," He wryly added as he followed in the Captain's hasty footsteps and lashing tail, smirking over his shoulder as Lepidus took the flask into his paws and poured himself a cup.

"I can make no promises," Judith seriously joked, eyes as vital as the stars above, leaning towards the Arctic fox as he filled what parts of her cup he'd deliberately left dry with the red liquid. "Though I trust you will carry me to bed should I become dazed."

"Oh, I will do more than that," He silently added, though judging by his betrothed's flushed cheeks and equally red gaze her acute ears had caught his words. All he managed was a toothy, intimate grimace before a column obstructed her figure.

He followed readily in the Captain's wake as the small fox piloted around rows of swaying tails and their celebratory owners, leading him to a secluded corner of the hall where only a torch-bearing servant stood, whom he quickly dismissed. His uneasy, impatient expression had only rooted itself deeper into his sharp tan profile, but Nick met his restlessness with a formal smile as he came to stand beside him, staring out over the hall.

"What afflicts your conscience, Zaphorize?" He politely inquired, eyes looking up at his betrothed as she called the room's attention and raised her chalice in commencement of a toast, and as she began a simplistic speech in his kind's tongue his tail began to wag restlessly. "This evening is meant for relaxation, not speculation!"

"A situation has arisen on the southern veranda that I cannot bear to leave unaddressed," The Captain answered, his tone driven by hushed urgency that beckoned him to speak quietly, and Nick felt his tail go stiff as his uneasy frown whirled to the swift fox.

"What sort of situation?" He tersely pressed, mind unnerved at the vague explanation, and he leaned towards the Captain with a demanding expression that the fox hastily addressed.

"A patrol has found an unconscious fox," He solemnly recounted, his puzzled brow furrowing further as he elaborated, and Nick listened with careful concentration, ears straining to hear amidst the cries of cheer at his betrothed's speech. "He was lying dazed on the ground, stripped of his clothes. There are bruises across his body, as though he's been beaten and robbed of his attire, and beside him lay a small glass vial."

"What was held within it?" He urgently asked, apprehension forcing his heart rate quicker, but the Captain only shook his head and stiffly shrugged.

"I cannot say; whatever liquid, it has been emptied," He austerely answered, and Nick began to flick his tail to and fro when his tense eyes locked with his own stare. "My Prince, this Arctic fox has me on edge. I fear you and the Princess may be in danger from assault."

"From him?" He scoffed, raising an eyebrow as a smile marked his muzzle, and he paced a step away, shaking his head, before his high cheeks descended and his gaze fell earthbound while a paw raised to rest on his chin. "I hardly think so, if he is as helpless as you portray. Yet it begs the question; who dons his clothes now? And there is still the matter of the flask..."

"I fear a mammal has infiltrated the Estate in his clothes," The Captain warned, his expression filled with uncertainty, and Nick managed a glance up at his flattened ears. "But all the guards and servants are accounted for, either already present or resting in their quarters."

"Not entirely," He corrected, smirking as his thumb rubbed against his lip when his betrothed's image appeared in his sights. "Lepidus sent a young attendant to fetch Princess Hopps a flask of wi-"

The pieces of the enigma fell into order in one brumal instant. Nick whirled his eyes upwards, boring into Judith, who'd raised her silver chalice high and shouted a merry command to the hall to down their drinks, all the while his pupils shrinking to slits and his heart missing beat after horrified beat. Some unseen mammal had mixed a vial of unknown chemicals and stolen a servant's clothes; only certainty brewed beneath his skull as to what they had done, and it made him sickened to his very spirit.

"Stay your paws!" He desperately roared, sprinting with the speed of a torrential gale across the room, strides heavy as a blacksmith's iron, and he snatched the Princess's cup from her very lips. It would not have been possible for him to care less of the vexed frown and quizzical expression that erupted on her face, the whole manor seeming to fall silent as dozens of pairs of eyes burned his body from all angles, and he sniffed at the untouched wine in her chalice with caution. It hardly smelled of anything heinous - only giving off a musty, tangy stench so indicative of the drink - and with a wary frown and lash of his tail he managed a tiny sip.

It hardly reached his tongue when he ignobly tossed the metal cup onto the stone floor, bouncing away with sharp clanks, and reared over, paws clutching the table's edge as he hacked up the crimson liquid onto his betrothed's silver platter and his own white doublet.

The unmistakable, rancid tang of hemlock assaulted his senses, his gaze squeezed shut and chest shivering as he purged it from body. Only when he could taste the busy air did he stop coughing, grimacing as he gasped for breath and as his gaze turned up to reassure his fiance's stricken expression and horrified purple eyes, gaping as wide as a full moon.

"Congratulations, Princess," He dryly toasted, ears and tail limp as his breaths steadied and grin rose. "You've endured your first assassination attempt."

* * *

 **Maybe another time for some TRULY NSFW moments... but fun developments; all the clues to who poisoned the drink are in the second half of the chapter, so go forth! But beware; there are only a few 'misplaced' words that answer.**

A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction CH18 - February 28th

Intrigue: A Zootopia Fanfiction CH1 - February 14th


	20. Chapter Eighteen

**It's that time of the month again! Chapter 17 was my most risque writing insofar, yet it's received a response positive enough to make me consider going further in the next NSFW moment! (It's 5+ chapters away, but I'd like to explicitly state right here and now that it will NOT be pornography, so don't get your hopes up).**

 **For those of you starving for _intrigue_ (har har), hopefully this chapter and what's to come will sate your appetite. More action is to be had; bloodier swordfights, longer chases, solemn tirades, and all culminating in a climactic confrontation that is sure to excite! Expect one of our characters to walk away with less than he had...**

 **A massive thanks to my Beta Readers/Editors. As always, your performances were stellar, and without your hard work and dedication I cannot be certain I would still be writing.**

 **Before I leave you to it, I'd like to mention with a heavy heart that my secondary story,** ** _Intrigue_** **, will be put on a brief hiatus until AFISA is done and dusted. My average chapter length has nearly-doubled over these past few months, and I'm mostly unable to continue two stories at the same time. Expect an update on _Intrigue_ at a later date (June, maybe?) when AFISA is approaching its conclusion.**

 **Edit 1, 3-4-18: Fixed formatting.**

* * *

Judy could only idly watch in uncomfortable silence as Nicholas barked orders at the sergeants of Captain Zaphorize's command through a slim gap in her suite's entryway. She fiddled with her thumbs and shifted on her rear, even her scarlet couch's cushiony velvet seat failed to ease her rattled spirit. She hadn't a wink of rest since last evening, the events of which still made her shudder in the morning light.

 _An Assassin?_ A horrified voice repeated beneath her skull, forcing her gaze wider as it fell from her fiance's urgent lips, such that she she hardly noticed as he pushed open her room's door and lightly approached.

No matter how much she insisted – nay, begged - both to herself and her contemporaries that there must be some flaw in the theory, the evidence was mounted against her protests. A young servant left bloodied and nude on the Manor's lakeside veranda confirmed that a sole, ash-colored fox had stolen his uniform, while a quick sniff of the wine bottle the intruder had spiked made her stomach twist at the awful smell of hemlock.

 _Such a dumb rabbit!_ She cursed at herself, frowning in irritation while her paws clenched and ears folded behind her head. _If you hadn't been such an alcoholic you would've smelled that poison from a country away! Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"My apologies for my brief absence, my Princess," Nicholas warmly interrupted, drawing her expressively ruffled gaze to his comforting smile as he took a seat beside her, his groomed tail resting atop her flexed paws and drawing the unease from her whirling mind. "How do you fare?"

"To say I am unharmed would be a lie," She warily gulped, eyes cutting across to the sunlit lake through her balcony's open doors and shifting uncomfortably on her rear, unable to find solace in the beautiful sight. "This whole ordeal has me fidgety."

"There is nothing to fret over, Judith," Nicholas confidently reassured, drawing her stare back to his affectionate grin with gentle paws that quickly fell to clasp with hers, and at the doting touch she leaned into the bubble of her own scent that wafted from him. "The Captain has taken _extreme_ precautions for your care, and his patrols are hard at work combing the valley and securing the road. They've already traced an unknown fox's scent deep into the hills; your assailant will be in our custody very soon."

"Maybe he has withdrawn from the vicinity," She distantly pondered, heart thumping as hope soared in her chest, and with pleading eyes she whirled towards her betrothed's curious expression, nearly flying to her feet. "Must we continue this pursuit, Nicholas? All I wish is to return home."

"Until this vagrant is clad in chains, then he will remain a threat," Her betrothed resolutely refuted, a trace of fury-red in his stiff stare that was drawn earthward, and she felt his tensed claws lightly press into her sweaty palms as though he were picturing the assassin lying before him. "Besides, we are unaware as to whether he received assistance from a mammal inside the banquet. Lepidus will keep those nobles who've yet to return to their holdings here, where he may question their whereabouts and loyalty."

Judy bit the inside of her cheek as she fell back into the couch, almost tasting the tangy disquiet that raged below her skin. Her mouth opened to protest, but before she had uttered so much as a dissenting breath her frowning eyes were once more locked to Nicholas, who was chuckling and grinning as his reflective stare studied her suite's colorful rugs.

"Some years ago a noble by the name of Prophetus attempted to have me slain," He merrily recounted, his smile only growing as his vital gaze turned up to her while his tail curled around her midsection. "He invited me to feasts time and time again, each occasion lacing my meal with nightshade, but I always managed to save my pelt in some manner."

"How can you reminisce over such an awful story?" She gasped in horror, ears bristling as she bolted onto her feet and darted from his touch with an irate expression and a tone that reflected such[1]. "Our lives were nearly snuffed out!"

"This is not the first attempt on my life at the paws of another fox, my Judith," He honestly defended, his face remaining calm yet visibly distraught by her spirit's shift as he rose onto his feet with his inviting tail high. "But they attempted to steal yours, and that is a transgression I cannot take lightly."

"You only speak of keeping my life sound, and hardly of your own!" She spat, taking a step away from his outstretched paws as hers clenched into fists and her bared teeth ground together. "What if our places had been switched at the table? I doubt I could've found the poison before you downed it! Nicholas, you would be -"

Her words caught in her throat and her feet stilled; slain in their retreating tracks before she finished her tirade. Her gaze became glossed and steadily fell limp to the ground as her chest strained to utter that sole, accursed word that echoed eternally in the blackness of her skull, but she only choked on air.

"-dead," She weakly finished, her watery eyes meeting Nicholas's worried expression and limp ears, all the fire in her defeated chest that had driven her away from her fiancé suddenly propelling the urge to return. " _Poisoned_. I cannot bear to even imagine you in such a manner."

"Judith…" Nicholas apologetically comforted, emotion swimming in his understanding emeralds as he stepped towards her. His strong arms curled around her chest, cradling the back of her head, and his tail snaked around her waist as he held in her in an unbreakable embrace that she reveled in, her arms pulling his steel-clad body closer as she pressed her face into his bunched neck fur.

"Please, Nick," She unsteadily begged, a scattered few soundless tears slipping into his fur through her squeezed-shut eyes. "I do not wish to hear you speak of the end of your life with such ease."

"I will not leave this Earth without a proper farewell, Judy," He mildly promised, his tone unwavering as he rubbed the side of his snout against her flattened ears, refreshing his scent that lingered in the white and grey fur beneath her sapphire gown. "I give you my word."

"Thank you," She faintly replied, her squeaky voice so low her acute ears could hardly trace it. Her irregular breaths and pacing heart steadied as huff after huff of Nicholas's scent, marked with traces of her own, drew through her stuffy nose. His presence alone - his foxy scent, the intimacy of their embrace, those supple words that slipped from his tongue - was the anecdote to all ill-feelings and diseases that would ever plague her. Was that love?

"My Prince and Princess," A familiar voice politely spoke up, drawing her drying gaze open and her paw to wipe the wetness from her nose as Nicholas withdrew from her clutch and shifted to face the doorway.

"My deepest regrets for interrupting," Lepidus formally apologized with a quick bow of his head, urgency writhing in his ice-blue eyes. "But it is time for you to depart if you wish to reach the palace by the morrow's evening."

With a regretful sigh Nicholas reached for her paw, fingers curling into her palm as his soft emeralds sent her a long blink.

"Ready, my Princess?" He affectionately asked, his tail coming to a reassuring rest on her shoulder, and with a drawn-out blink of her own and a squeeze of his paw she nodded.

"Race you there," She lightheartedly challenged, her own smile mirroring her betrothed's as humor lit up his face.

* * *

The incessant creaking of the galley was more than enough to make the most stable of foxes succumb to insanity.

The air had been cool and the weather merciful on their journey down the valley, but the moment the streams widened into rivers the blistering heat returned on the heels of rain. Nick grumbled as he trekked through muddy ruts in the road, his once glowing fur left dirtied and messy. His only merriment came in the form of Judith, who jabbed at him for his choice of attire and who he subsequently punished by pushing into a deep brown puddle. She glared at him murderously as she hauled herself out amidst the echo of his laughter.

As the orange rays of the sun faded on the day of departure their entourage arrived in the walled hamlet they'd passed through some weeks earlier. There waited their ship, packed with fresh supplies and outfits for both he and the Princess and surrounded on all sides by eagle-eyed guards, come to reinforce the Captain.

"You go ahead and board, my Princess," He told Judith with a guiding flick of his tail, grinning as his gaze travelled over her nearly entirely brown body. "You are in more need of a wash than even the most desperate urchin!"

"This is not over, Wilde!" She muttered, her voice as disgruntled as her defeated expression as she trudged onto the ramp leading up from the dock. Nick watched her bristling ears disappear below deck with a wide grimace before he turned back towards the town.

Every ounce of amusement in his body was overcome by grave sobriety as he stalked towards Captain Zaphorize, standing at the water's edge, deep in conversation with his lieutenants. Nick's paws were clasped behind his back and a serious frown was chiseled into his brow; forcing the Captain to send the stone-eyed soldiers away with a quick nod when his rushed gaze caught sight of the his approach.

"What word is there of the assassin?" Nick asked urgently, lashing his tail as he came to a stop beside the small fox. To his relief the Captain didn't bother with pleasantries.

"The scent trail has run cold," The swift fox unenthusiastically explained, jaw clenching as he studied the opposite, sandy banks of the river. "For the time being, he is evading our capture by disappearing into the wilderness, and it irks me to say Lepidus's efforts at the Manor have turned up fruitless as well."

"Then the fox has escaped," Nick grumbled, his voice and ears disheartened as his eyes fell to the water's breezy current and the sprinkles of rainwater that rippled atop it. "Call off the patrols; I want every soldier under your command either on that ship or along the coast."

"Already done, my Prince," The Captain confirmed, and with a nod of approval Nick wandered back towards the galley, nose madly sniffing at the musty air. His claws tightened around his wrists as a gust of wind blew the scents of a dozen mammals under his nostrils, reinvigorating worry and fury within the confines of his skull.

 _That bastard fox will not evade my paws for long._ He gruffly declared, the white of his teeth emerging from between his parting lips as he hurried up the ship's ramp. _If I must scour the whole of the Empire, then that is what shall be done!_

A worm of gratitude burrowed between his ribs as he hopped over the galley's side and onto the expansive deck, and he could not help himself from breathing a sigh of relief.

 _There is something amiss about this whole incident…_ He decidedly ventured with his eyes shrinking to slits, clairvoyance ruling his conscience as his gaze absentmindedly toured the halberd-armed, steel-clad guards swarming all around him. There had not been ample opportunity for a fox to intrude upon the feast, and he could not bring himself to believe that it was chance that allowed such a killer entrance right under their very noses. No, something else festered beneath the surface…

But whatever lay buried in that barrow, he could not bring himself to fathom. He would need consultation the moment the ship reached the Burrow's docks.

His idle stare focused halfway across the ship and his tail went high as his betrothed's slender form stepped up from below deck, her paws running down her soaked ears and a tight scarlet gown luring him closer to her washed fur; now without the faintest trace of the dirt or grime that'd plagued it before.

 _At least the danger has passed, for the moment._ He solemnly conceded with a thankful smile, hastening to his betrothed's fluffy tail as she leaned over the galley's side, and with an affectionate squeeze his paw snaked around her waist.

With swift winds pressing at the helm, the sail upriver was to take a full day, but as luck would see it through the breezes that had nearly frozen him solid atop the snowy peak no longer swept down from the mountains. The air was heavier than iron shackles and as humid as the still water that buoyed their slowly drifting craft. The world became a stagnant hell of sweat and sun for two painfully tedious days.

Nick could only stand so much heat after the cool mornings spent dozing amid the lapping of the lakeshore. The broil only grew more blistering as the hours ticked by, only the faintest of clouds drifting to block the sun's killer rays. He eventually resorted to stripping himself almost to the nude, only donning his striped leather skirt as he heaved for cool air over the galley's rails. His betrothed didn't fare much better in her tight-fitting dresses that she hadn't the option to discard.

What made matters more dire was the definitive lack of shade. Aside from a ragged tent assembled to shelter a barrel of black powder from the occasional, wistful shower the only place devoid of the sun was below deck, where the rank sweat of the rowers made the stench and humidity beyond unbearable. Neither he nor Judith spoke, nor did they do much of anything noteworthy, until the respite of night shrouded the banks of the ever-widening river in a curtain of cool darkness.

Yet if there was something to indulge in on the painstaking journey it was his Carrots. They slept with their eyes entranced by the stars, as comfy as their circumstances would grant. In place of beds they lay on rugs, not even the Captain daring to disturb them as Nick's arms curled around her tired frame and brought her close to his creamy chest fur. The sound of her smooth voice and the touch of her soft nose eased his racing heart, reminding him that they'd left danger behind and were on their return from a doting, intimate vacation.

Still, sleep eluded him like the assassin had done in the very woods they now sailed past. Early in the third and final morning of their sail, when the sun had yet to bless the world with its fiery resolve, scattered torchlights shot to life along the roads that mirrored the river's course. Nick glared out at them from the galley's edge inquisitively, standing staunch with his arms crossed behind his midsection as he watched flame after flame strike up. The steady clangs of formations in march soon followed, and when the dawn finally peaked above the approaching horizon he stared out at the dazzling columns of steel guarding their route.

"Word has reached the Emperor and King of what has transpired," Captain Zaphorize explained, wandering to his side with his arms crossed over his chest plate. "They've assigned reinforcements to facilitate our approach to the city. Apparently, security has been stepped up once more, as it was in the war."

"All because of a single miscreant fox," Nick spitefully grumbled, paw rising to rub his ears into the back of his skull while apprehensive irritation seized him solid. "I will only ease when his corpse hangs from a Palace window."

Yet that last destination appeared closer than he'd hoped. A familiar bend in the river and the distant sight of steep rocky cliffs, atop which sat the stone, monolithic battlement that was the Palace, signaled their journey's end. Nick woke his betrothed with a subtle paw on her shoulder, grinning as he kneeled beside her, staring down at the gentle rise and fall of her crimson-clad chest and the occasional twitch of her ears lovingly, not wishing to disturb her slumber.

"Arise, my Princess, or my paws will be forced to throw you overboard," He eventually mumbled, voice as gentle as the touch of silk and his whiskers brushing against the base of her ears. A few moments passed before a deep breath roused her to roll towards him, her glowing eyes wearily blinking open as she raised to dazed sit.

"Nicholas," She faintly mumbled, leaning her heavy head onto his shoulder as her eyes flickered shut once more, and with an affectionate shake of his head he pulled her to her feet.

"Let us be thankful for the mattresses we will sleep on tonight," Nick casually joked as his eyes darted to the bags under his Judith's eyes, and with a quick rub of his chin against the top of her head a giggle slipped past her lips.

The galley's pace remained cautiously steady as it veered towards the Burrow's stone dock. The only other vessels that gave it company were the hulks and galleasses of the Imperial Navy, a half-dozen ships swimming with foxes and crates, undoubtedly fresh from the port of Foxtock. On dry land, hundreds of guards, both foxes and rabbits alike, lined the expansive paved street; keeping the onlookers who peered from the city's roads leading inland at bay.

Yet it was the reception of officials that held Nick's attention. The Emperor and his cabinet waited off to the left of the galley's lowering ramp, the Grand Marshal flanking him on one side and Admiral Dolosus on the other. Opposite them stood King Hopps and his ministers, noticeably more numerous than his vulpine counterpart's, yet waiting with equal patience and prestige.

"I must speak with my father about this assassin as soon as time wills it, Judith," Nick hastily explained, his fiance's small paws clutched between his fingers and palms as a pawful of sailors secured the galley to land with long ropes, yet his apologetic gaze became lost within the forgiving, wrought smile that confronted him. "I cannot sit idly by as that dangerous a mammal prowls the countryside, regardless of how trivial the danger he may present to us from half a country afar."

"Nor can I," Judy staunchly declared, cutting him off as she moved a paw to press against the side of his face, her shaky smile rising to a full beam and coaxing his own cheeks to rise. "Yet that duty I will surrender to you and the Empire; I am doubtful a rabbit could track down a fox better than another of his kind. Still, I will try my paw at what I can with my own father. Although you may be my most vocal adherent, Nicholas, sometimes you forget I am not the same idiotic doe you seduced all those months ago."

"Nor am I the same shifty fox so quick to action," He swiftly countered, perking a daring eyebrow as he stepped up onto the firmly-secured ramp, pulling his betrothed to his side with an outstretched paw.

"I would dare to disagree," She dryly nipped, waltzing past him confidently, the water lapping loudly mere feet below her. He sarcastically scoffed in reply and let an offended frown take root upon his face, his paws clenching together at the base of his tail as to refrain from ungraciously shoving her into the river. His first step on dry land sent waves of relief flooding below his burning armor, and with a final glance at the galley and a valedictory nod to Captain Zaphorize, who stood at the height of the ramp, he followed in his betrothed's hasty steps.

The greetings on shore were curt, fraught with emotion, and shaded with an almost visible aura of stressful gratitude. The Emperor retreated a step almost instantaneously along with all the officials of both his and the King's entourages, conceding the foreground with a bow to his regal counterpart, who met his betrothed's extended arms with a tight embrace. His muzzle pressed into her shoulder and his golden chest heaved a deep sigh of relief, his anxious gaze closing shut as their unbreakable hug drew out.

When Judith finally withdrew from his paws Nick felt his heartstrings pull at the unwavering care in both her expression and the King's, in addition to the pawhold that they seemed unable to break. A respectful smile became drawn on his muzzle as they exchanged quiet, hurried whispers that echoed the familial love shared between them. It was only a matter of moments before that affection looked over at him, and Nick sensed his ears perk and spine stiffen as the weighty rabbit hurried towards him and clutched both his shoulders.

"This may not be the time for such informalities, but God be damned to hellfire," He graciously lamented, pulling Nick into an awkward embrace that made his cheeks flush with red. It took Nick a few instants to squeeze back, stifling a grin as he watched his betrothed gently chuckle with a paw over her muzzle.

"Nicholas Wilde, your tenacity in times of trouble has saved the life of my only daughter," The King hastily continued, pulling away yet refusing to move his paws from his shoulders, and Nick stared into his honest, thankful amber eyes with a light smirk. "The final vestige of the honor of our line; nearly at the expense of your own light if rumor stands true. The House of Hopps shall forever be held in your debt."

"You owe me naught, my most generous King," Nick warmly reassured, drawing the King's paws from his shoulders with his left as he took a polite step to Judith's side, cheeks raising higher. "I only desire the justice that our kinds' search will deliver. For the time being I am merely thankful that our party has reached safety without casualty, and that this assassin has not made another attempt on the Princess's life – or my own, for that matter."

That last part of his reply he added rather hastily, sparing a glance down at his betrothed's doting and gracious smirk with a respectful smile that echoed her worries, and the tip of his tail drew under her sun soaked gown and around her ankles when she managed a step closer to him and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"For the prospect of reuniting with those whom you love, even those united against us will agree on its sweet taste," The Emperor tonelessly reflected, emerging from seemingly thin air as he stood beside the King with a two-dimensional smile. Nick flicked an ear at the sight of his rigid tail and clenched jaw, a tiny frown furrowing his eyebrows as he witnessed the haste pulling at his soul through the two emeralds that bored into his own. Their worries were one in the same.

"Yet it is evident in your eyes that this ordeal has taken a taxing toll on the soundness of your sleep and strength," King Hopps noted, agitation ripe in his twitching nose as he surveilled their faces, paws flexing at his gold-trimmed sides, as though his counterpart's arrival was stirring him to worry. "If safety were guaranteed, I would order you to hasten back to the mountains."

"To say our return has not been afflicted by this… _incident_ would be a falsehood, father," Judith uncertainly started, speaking on behalf of the both of them with a quick glance in his direction, to which he replied with an encouraging nod and squeeze of her palm. Her appreciative yet solemn eyes flicked over unwaveringly to meet the Emperor's stoic face and intrigued glare, and Nick felt the prickle of affection pierce his chest, marred still by the leech of restlessness from the nadir of his mind. "But the Prince's diligence and the steady work of our company has made the journey bearable, even when pitted against the sun. I will testify for his resilience of duty and soundness of mind wholeheartedly."

"We may be shaken and sleepless, my Sovereigns, but we are raring to return to the humdrum of court," He lightheartedly quipped with a warm flick of his tail. Behind his grin, however, he stifled a small gulp of distress and a marginal retreat of his perked ears. "Still, the shadow of this noxious fox hangs over us."

"His venoms cannot touch you here, I assure you," The King mildly promised, a pleasant smile accompanying the gradually relaxing bristle on his ears and the tints of sun on the gold of his doublet. With a calm wave of his paw and a polite glance, the finely-dressed rabbits of his court parted like a sea, leaving the street to the Palace, which was lined with hundreds of spear-armed and iron-clad attendants, visible to the landmark's very steps. "Every road for a dozen miles has been secured, and patrols from the Burrow constantly tour the hinterland. No fox or rabbit will enter the city without our knowing of it."

"But those precautions will only shelter you so long as you remain complacent behind the Palace walls, which I cannot picture in the likes of you, my Prince and Princess," The Emperor intervened with a minor lash of his tail, the staunch veil in his gaze parting enough for a spot of the apprehension that was nearly visible beneath his hulking armor to see daylight. "It troubles me that I must ask you to relive the horror, but the reports of the assassin's appearance are blank beyond the shade of his fur. I cannot order the apprehension of a subject if I am not acquainted with his visage. Can either of you recall any details?"

Nick let the heat of the world and the eyes that bored into his fur from all directions fall into darkness as he brought himself back to the lakeside. He frowned, tilting his head while his maw clenched as the tumultuous evening rushed back to him like a forced wound.

The unmistakable fragrance of alcohol hung on his tongue and nostrils alike, while the merry sounds of conversation floated through the air. He vaguely heard Lepidus calling over a young fox, a servant with white fur and a sharp face, and ordering him to fetch the fateful bottle of Beardeaux wine. Minutes ticked by, but when the bottle arrived he could put no face on the attendant; only a fuzzy mass of ash-colored fur. It was a different fox, undoubtedly, albeit how, aside from his pelt he could not say. With a regretful sigh he shook his head and let his ears grow limp, defeated.

"Yes," Judith impassively answered, sending surprise shooting through his form like lightning, and his full gaze darted over to lock with her ever-focused expression. "Though his face may be hazy, I cannot discard it from mind so easily."

Those two encaptivating amethysts of hers slowly blinked open, determination rife within their depths, and raised to meet the King and Emperor's, with Nick's own hastily following suit as his tail drew supportively up her spine.

"If your Lordships will it, I may sketch his appearance," She offered, and a smirk became painted over her muzzle when their fathers rapidly nodded in agreement.

"That would be an ocean beyond beneficial, Princess," The Emperor thanked, gratitude ripe in his tone, and with a curt bow and lift of his tail he stalked back to continue waiting patiently by the water's edge while the King raised a guiding paw towards the road. Nick let his eyes wander, however, until they were staring over his shoulder, locked with the Emperor's ever-deepening stare and all the subtle emotions that festered below his noble facade.

"Let us hasten back to the Palace, then, before this sun burns through our pelts," King Hopps amicably urged, his warm expression for the first time at ease since they disembarked, and his ears fell heavily behind his skull as he turned and began to pace down the road. "I feel my gut has already begun to boil."

The Princess drew her paw from their hold as she hastened to follow beside her father, and Nick found his toes itching to take a trailing step behind the two regal rabbits. Yet he was rooted to the spot, unable to do more than longingly stare after his betrothed for a long moment before reality clawed its way back under his skull.

 _She is doing her duty; as I must do mine._ He sternly reminded, calling back his responsibilities, the benign spirits that had guided him to the hot pool plunged in snow and through the forests shielding the lakeside routed by the vigor of duty. Thus, with his paws clenched into fists behind his back he whisked towards the Emperor and the stiff ministers that stood around him, completely oblivious that two amethysts had spared him a final, fleeting glance.

To Nick's silent interest Emperor Canus dismissed the foxes of his court with a sharp flick of his ear, and they withdrew one by one up the ramp and onto the deck of the galley he'd burned on for the last three days. Captain Zaphorize greeted them there with his own entourage of sergeants, yet whatever he said was lost amid the din of waves and the foot traffic of marching formations.

"My Emperor, I am in urgent need of your advice," Nick hurriedly greeted with a quick bow of his head, urgency nearly visibly bubbling from his muzzle, yet the Emperor's greying tail was pressed against his lips before he could voice his worries. The huge fox's expression hadn't changed in the slightest, his frostbitten stare very nearly burning through his own fur with malice not meant for him.

"Follow," The Emperor bluntly commanded, turning with a lash of his tail and striding alongside the port's edge. Nick abided zealously, keeping pace and making the occasional ocular foray towards the Emperor's expression, waiting for the noticeable shift that never reared its head. His irksome worry sprouted into a blooming flower of eager impatience as the silence between them echoed on, but still the Emperor did not make so much as a squeak of sound aside from the creaking of his metal boots. This continued even as they marched across a wide stone bridge and arrived on the opposite bank of the river, where the Burrow's structures grew sparse quickly.

It was only when the brick-and-mortar buildings were entirely replaced by the white and blue tents of the First Army's command that a disgruntled grumble slipped past the Emperor's steely façade, and Nick perked his ears and trained his eyes on the suddenly worn fox as the Emperor dismissed the column of guards following at their heels with a heavy nod.

"May God never see an attempt on the lives of your heirs when they sleep beneath your own roof," He sullenly growled, his paw pulling back the curtain to a red and silver-trimmed tent while his ears hung like ballasts at the sides of his head. "You do not know how ashamed I am by the display of this honorless fox."

"He is a curse to our entire species," Nick agreed with a small snarl, unable to contain his vexation as he strode into the refreshing cool of the shade with a thankful nod. "That is why his apprehension must be as swift and accurate as possible given the Empire's current resources."

The inside of the rectangular tent sported few luxuries aside from the absolute necessities; a makeshift desk of crates, maps piled atop tables like wheat during harvest, a pair of scattered chairs, and a crimson rug underfoot. Not that circumstances demanded anything more than a hard seat to grant a brief respite, Nick's pointy ears stood upright as the Emperor took the chair across from him, its wooden joints creaking under the weight of his plate armour.

"That is what Grand Marshal Paratus has recommended," The experienced fox explained, his paws gripping the chair's armrests as he carefully lowered his curled tail behind it. "He and the Empire's ministers are listening to the Captain's efforts in pursuit as we speak."

"But if you wished to speak of that matter, then we would not be facing one another now," He steadily remarked after a moment's thought, turning to meet Nick's stare with a perked ear and rapt expression. "What troubles your conscience, Nicholas?"

"My Emperor," Nick formally started, yet an awkward grimace took control of his muzzle as he struggled to put his notions into coherent thought; though he may've been consumed by unease, he had thought little of his approach. "Though there may be no forthright evidence of such collusion, I find it improbable that this assassin acted alone in his efforts."

"Did Lepidus not carry out an investigation into the feast-goers?" The Emperor pressed, cautious curiosity rising in his furrowed brow as he leaned and tilted his head towards Nick, his armor still firmly in the chair's grasp. "The reports that reached my ears suggested that all those in attendance were of fair heart."

"Those who remained in the aftermath of the attempt were so," Nick confirmed with a curt nod, yet his eyes shifted to the tent's rippling wall as he slowly tossed his head with ever-gaining speed, and he soon leaned forward, elbow digging into his thigh guard as the underside of his chin pressed against his fist. "Some few managed to depart beforepaw, but they are not the ones who stir my fur. News travels south to the Empire leisurely from here; even with sharp tongues and fine winds, one expects ten days for word to reach the gates of Wien. It cannot be possible that this fox planned and executed his malicious assault in that little time unaided."

"What are you getting at, Nicholas?" The Emperor questioned, his serious tone nearly as dire as the fading sunlight in his darkening emeralds and his low-hanging, nigh-bristling tail.

"I suspect our assassin knew of our departure before the very Border-Princes of Vulfhaus had caught scent of it," Nick dourly proposed, sobriety flooding his stiffened form as he straightened back into the uncomfortable chair, sharp gaze and attentive ears patrolling every inch of the Emperor's motionless face to surmise his reaction. "Someone resourceful has alerted him, supplied him, and, given the aptitude of evasion he has displayed since, sheltered him from our search parties. I believe this fox to be on the payroll of a greater power."

"You speak of treason, then," The Emperor grimly repeated, half-dumbfounded and fully disbelieving as he fell back into his seat with a quiet breath, and his eyes cut across the room only to return to Nick's after the fog of disillusionment had passed. "Against the Empire. Against _foxkind_. That is a most serious charge. We may have our share of enemies, Prince Wilde, yet I know of few who would attempt to have your life, and that of the Princess, for that matter, taken in such an ignoble fashion."

"It may be a stray thought, my Emperor, but moments prior to the assassin's arrival Lepidus recounted to me the state of the Electors," Nick warily ventured, his claws pulling at his chair's arms in slow, steady rakes while passion rose like the midnight sun in his voice. "He told of the rancor brought on by their dismissals from your court, and the grumbles that've echoed from the south ever since. He ventured so far as to suggest open revolt against your crown, of flames spurned to greater intensity by the ministers and taxmammals that are converting their war-weary subjects to the side of peace. What obstruction would stay their vengeful paws from committing this heinous crime?"

Under the repressive, critical glare of the Emperor it took mere moments for realization to wash over Nick. He had leaped onto his feet, paws clenched into fists at his sides and his tail puffed below him, as though he were to strike out at his father in unrestrained fury. His face burned as fiery as coal, and with an apologetic cough that expelled the brunt of his bloodlust he darted back to the edge of his seat, ears low and tail flicking as he waited for the Emperor to deliver a harsh reprimand.

"I am reluctant to pursue this fantasy, Nicholas," Was all the ironclad fox replied, a long blink routing the disappointment in his glare as he glanced off, rolling his paw dismissively. "Yes, petty squabbles among the lesser nobles may spill blood the odd time, yet assassination is not a tool oft used by the Electors to move the world to their whim. They are righteous mammals, though they may be plagued by corruption and their own pursuits of vainglory."

"We believed Certus to be of virtuous character, even when he tortured our houses below our very roofs," Nick mindfully reminded, drawing the Emperor's suddenly irate glare to lock with his own. "Even if it is a radical levy, the Electors have more than the requisite wealth and resources to supply an assassin's paw; and clear motive to do so when lined up next to all others who could take their place."

A heavy silence grasped the cool air of the tent as the Emperor sat deadpan, eyes cast downward as they studied the embroidered scenes of the rug, not betraying even the slightest ounce of emotion that Nick could use to gauge the Emperor's opinion. Nick waited with anxiety plaguing his vision, paws clasping together as his tail darted to and fro incessantly, his body shifting forward as he yearned to hear the stony fox's reply.

"You and Judith have proven your suspicions to be factual before," the Emperor eventually conceded, his wide gaze rising like green moons, but in a moment a vicious snarl had usurped his expression, his maw so fiercely white Nick had to suppress a flinch. "And now that bastard Certus rots in the Palace dungeons! I will ensure by my _own_ edge the Electors make no more attempts on either of your lives; and if they've yet to, then they never shall. I will demolish the doors to their very homes, if that is what must be done, for they have done the same to my own abode without regard!"

With a lash of his tail that narrowly avoided the tip of his twitching nose the Emperor stormed onto his feet, paws clasped behind his back as he shot over to a makeshift desk - little more than a crate with a detailed map sprawled atop it - and gaped down.

"For now, a show of force will do more than miracles," He grimly concluded with a low rumble echoing from his hulking chestplate, ushering him to approach with a sharp flick of his ear, and Nick shot to his feet and hastened to the fox's side, eyes and ears vital with attention. "Tomorrow I march to Wien, and with me I shall take the firmest regiments of the First Army. I will send a bloodless message to the Electors; the Empire remains undefeatable."

"Not to question your decision, my Emperor, but wouldn't that hinder our efforts to protect the Burrow?" He warily proposed, watching with bated heartbeats and an ill-feeling pulling beneath his ribs as the Emperor straightened and trained his attentive gaze on his visibly reluctant expression, lowered ears and all. "In your absence, our enemies may feel more inclined to strike, especially if there is an absence of troops."

The agitation that clawed beneath his fur was spurned to fiercer tears as the vision of assassins approaching his betrothed within her very suite's privacy rushed past his dilated pupils, his tail bristling defensively and claws digging into his velvety palms until the Emperor lay a calm paw on his shoulder, shaking him from his nightmare with a light smirk.

"Your concern is admirable," The Emperor gently praised, a flicker of pride in his voice as his softened gaze studied Nick's form from ear to tail-tip. "Truly the quality of a just ruler. But I assure you whatever numbers I draw south will be hastily reinforced by foxes of the Third Army. Marshal Fenus has yet a while before he's purged all the miscreants in Certus's lot, but there are still loyal soldiers aplenty."

"Then I foresee sharing a word with the Marshal, whenever duty may grant him leave," Nick affably commented, his raised tail falling easily down to Earth as he sent the Emperor a thankful bow of the head. Canus's smirk did not fade as he strode past Nick, unhurriedly pacing to the colorful rug's edge at the opposite end of the rectangular tent and pulling open a magnanimous chest of iron and birch.

"As for I, and my personal duties here, you will take my place at court," He went on, voice focused as he drew back a white sheet inside the container, and Nick peered over his shoulder only to feel the air rush from his lungs and his eyes shoot wide when he saw what was held inside. "Consider yourself Emperor in my absence."

"You know what this is?" The Emperor soberly queried, turning towards Nick with a somber look in his old eyes, and Nick nodded his head heartily in answer, entirely absorbed by the thin metal band devoid of any jewels or precious stones that the regal fox held in his paws. "The Crown of Princes, smelted by the first Emperor Vulpinus himself. Ever since the late Prince Vulnus perished at the gates of Wien it has sat idly by, once thought lost, yet in truth waiting for its true owner. You have proven yourself capable of feats thought impossible by our contemporaries time and time again, Nicholas."

The featureless, wrought iron circlet was brought above his ears as the Emperor took a step towards him, and his head hastily lowered as the chilling touch wrapped around his skull, from the bases of his ears to the front of his forehead. His stunned mind could hardly think, let alone mutter a thankful reply, his gaping muzzle rendered entirely speechless by the symbolic gesture. This plain object held far more sway than its trivial appearance betrayed; to have it bestowed upon him was a show of honesty he hadn't realized was possible, let alone probable.

"This should have been bestowed unto you when I first declared you as my heir."

"I will try to uphold the honor that accompanies your name, my Emperor," Nick devotedly promised, his voice rushing through his chest like a wintry river come springtime.

"You will," The Emperor decidedly assured, sending Nick a curt nod as a trusting grin rose on Canus' snout. "I do not doubt you."

The scorching sunlight beat down with even greater ferocity as the Emperor and Nick stepped from the refreshing shade of the tent and back into the din of the bustling camp, the only cool reminder the crown perched atop his skull.

Nick let his gaze slip past the throngs of armed, steely foxes drilling and sparring while orderly formations marched past and found himself taking in the site of the Burrow from the small incline he stood atop, gazing down at the innumerable rooftops until his eyes reached the awesome sight of the Palace. It stood an impenetrable obelisk of stone that jutted from the ground like a mammal-made mountain, its hardened battlements and thickened walls reminiscent of the warranted safety it presented. Somewhere hidden within this, his Judith spent her time with the King.

His chest puffed and cheeks rose as he pictured the envious look she'd undoubtedly show when he brought his coronet before her, but he flicked an ear and dropped his smirk as he recalled what she now sat doing.

"It pains my broken heart, speaking of such awful events when we should be celebrating the union of our kinds and the peace it ushers," The Emperor sullenly sighed, his distant eyes blinking heavily as his shoulder sagged. "It is as though the war rages on."

"Judith and I decided upon a wedding date," Nick casually mentioned after a long moment's thought, causing a shift in his sovereign's spirit as his eyes and ears perked. "The first day of autumn."

"In time to see the change of the leaves from the comfort of the balcony," Emperor Canus commented, managing a weak smile as his excited gaze stared out over the distant rows of tents. "Truly a romantic occasion. King Hopps predicted you would choose some day soon, but even he will stand surprised once word spreads of this. You and the Princess certainly have work to keep your paws from resting idle!"

"Though our timeframe may be short in nature, with the aid of the ministers and the Palace attendants I am certain beyond a whim of doubt we will experience few delays," Nick blithely reassured, tail rising and the whites of his teeth visible through his grin as he tapped the Emperor's side with his elbow. "Besides, if King Hopps has expressed his interest in the ceremony, then maybe he would consider lending a guiding paw."

"Methinks that would please him greatly," The Emperor concurred with a reserved nod, a paw stroking at his muzzle as his gaze glossed over in memory. "His old eyes have yet to see a union of his own children; all his betrothed sons perished before their days of merriments. At least both he and I will witness your marriage to the Princess."

"Time for you to return to the Palace, is it not?" He curtly commented, ordering Nick away with a wave of his long tail as his characteristic stony expression returned. "I will not place the stress of managing my departure on you. I imagine Princess Hopps waits for you in her chambers, by now."

"She is far more independent than you picture," Nick defensively murmured, lifting a scolding eyebrow as he retreated at a respectable pace down the makeshift track they'd taken before, a pawful of guards following at his heels. "Sometimes it is I who chases her tail, when she has not yet given me ample attention."

"As it should be," The Emperor chuckled, turning away and stalking towards a congregation of captains beside an open-aired canopy with his gloved paws clasped behind his back. "What a time to be young and in love. Until our paths cross again, Nicholas."

"It is always an honor, my Emperor," He politely called back, his sarcastic tone half-serious as he sent the fox a wary blink. "Try not to lose yourself to this assassin."

"I will smite his head from his shoulders if I should so much as catch his scent!" The Emperor pointedly shouted over his steel shoulder, his visage as fiery as his own fur. "In my absence make certain you do not lose your own!"

* * *

 **A Fox in Shining Armor: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 19 - By February 28th**

 **Intrigue: A Zootopia Fanfiction Chapter 2 - Currently on Hiatus (look out for Chapter one, though!)**

 **If you've enjoyed the chapter please leave a comment explaining why, and if you haven't then that's even more of a reason to leave your thoughts! Any and all criticism is appreciated!**


	21. Chapter Nineteen

**Here we go, one more time!**

 **Yeah, took a while to hammer this one out. Uni, an awful illness, and a general _disdain_ for what I'd written made me go back and reconsider what's going on these next five or so chapters. The plot's in an even _better_ state, though, with a lot more action, suspense, and romance to come - even in this upcoming chapter! That's not so say I've forgotten the _awful_ rendition of Chapter 16 I did - I do intend to live up to my promises.**

 ** _Someone_ will lose _something_ _very_ dear to them _very_ soon. Let's hope it won't be their head.**

 **Anyways, let's not talk about that right now! Enjoy this chapter, and the villains that will soon rear their heads!**

* * *

The Emperor boarded his nigh two-hundred oared vessel the morning after Nick had held his audience in the camp. There was little commotion surrounding his departure, which certainly hadn't been the case during the Princess's and Nick's arrival; even though there was now a far greater movement of both mammals and materials. Along the deserted waterfront road, scores of halberd-wielding foxes shielded those who'd attended the valedictory ceremony from the pawful of scattered onlookers, mostly curious sailors staring in awe at the dozen ships pulling from port.

Nick watched the slim wooden ramp retreat onto the deck of the Emperor's galley with an ill flick of his tail and a blatantly worried frown. His apprehensive appetite had yet to be sated in full; despite the commanding fox's personal assurances that he'd unravel any conspiracies against Nick and his sweet betrothed. Even with the added security and fresh marines arriving from Foxtock, Nick remained ill at ease; in fact, he was starting to suspect that he would remain that way until death did him and the world part.

In his idle fretting Nick only vaguely noticed Emperor Canus peer over the galley's railing, sending him a final, solemn glare and a curt nod before the rowers propelled their craft. Nick returned the gesture with a blunt nod and an uneasy stare, his tail starting to bristle as the galley lifted anchor. Within the span of a few minutes the fleet was already around the river's bend, out of sight and only growing more distant.

Nick could feel his claws digging into his palms and the tightness in his jaw only grew more profound, yet he didn't move from his spot beside the water until his racing heart slowed to a standstill. He focused on the steady flow of blue only a few feet below his toes, drawing in deep, calming breaths as his gaze flickered shut.

 _"Easy, Nicholas!"_

Nick heard his Judith's surprised voice as clear as day, yet his memory remained as black as the night it was shrouded by. He could taste her scent and feel the cool touch of her silken bedsheets on his sweaty fur

" _I would think you had never slept before!"_

 _"There is an assassin breathing down your very throat; how is it that you rest your head so soundly?"_

His own disgruntled growl echoed beneath his skull like a horn before battle but faded to silence when the soft press of rabbit paws cupped his cheeks, drawing agitation from him like venom from a wound.

 _"He is not here. Only you and I. Now rest your worries. It is better to be tame and timid than fretful and fanatical."_

Her advice was more than enough to quiet the last stubborn redoubts of uncertainty within him, even if their silence was only momentary, and with a strong frown and half-etched grin he strode from the water's edge.

"My Sers, the Emperor's departure does not present a chance to slacken our duties," Nick pointedly announced, addressing the five other foxes who had joined him in farewell with a wide wave of his tail and with his paws locking behind his waist. "Atop this unfolding _incident_ of ours, there is still the matter of maintaining the court, not even to speak of the wedding between Princess Hopps and I! We cannot afford to sleep on empty bellies when our plates are so full."

"My Prince, we are ready and raring to obey your word," Grand Marshal Paratus, the hulking, grey-muzzled red fox resolvedly declared, sending Nick a respectful bow of his head and a long, attentive blink. The four other ministers standing behind him followed suit, and Nick watched their courtesies with ever-flourishing confidence and a growing sense of the authority that was fueled by the steel circlet resting atop his head.

"Good, because there will be much of it," He retorted in a wily manner - inciting a sniff of laughter from the others - before his gaze swept over to the silent, scarlet-clad red fox standing a step further from his counterparts. "Admiral Dolosus, if you have no pressing matters to attend to, I wish for you to engage in discussion with King Hopps' nautical minister, Ser Arbalest. I have little doubt there is a trove of knowledge the two of you could exchange."

"I will converse with Ser Arbalest as soon as the recent arrivals from Foxtock have been broken in, Prince," The well-mannered fox assured, his tail high and old face smiling as he backed away with a departing bow. "I look quite forward to meeting another mammal of admiralty."

"That is like a river to a desert traveler," Nick firmly thanked, dismissing the expectant fox with a quick flick of his ear, and his attention turned to the next minister; Vilicus, a mid-aged grey fox much alike in stature to Ambassador Dhani.

"Castellan, I must ask you maintain your position in the throne room and continue the duties you've performed until now," He explained, and the reserved vulpine delivered a hasty nod before he, too, turned off and hurried to his duties.

"Mercatus and Advectius, I am entrusting the both of you to the service of King Hopps whenever your daily routines grant you a spare breath," Nick swiftly went on, his aggressive stare moving onto the two smaller, doublet-clad foxes eagerly listening in stark contrast to Paratus' enormous steel-clad form. "He's very nearly been living up to his family name ever since supper last. I would not be surprised if he needed more paws working on his grand scheme."

"It shan't be a problem, Prince Wilde," Mercatus merrily guaranteed, grinning as he and his Sechuran counterpart strode away along the water's edge, though for Advectius it was more like a stubborn stalk.

"Wedding planning," The fiery fox grumbled to Mercatus under his breath, his tail nearly dragging against the paved road. " _Great_."

"Pay no mind to that 'minister'," Grand Marshal Paratus growled, stepping to Nick's side as he cast an icy glare at the back of the fox's skull. "He can be as short-sighted as he can be stupid."

"So can I," Nick lightheartedly countered with a half-serious grimace brimming with sarcasm, his arms folding over his sunbathed chest plate while his paws tightened to nervous fists. "And the Princess, when she is without a well-mannered escort such as myself."

"You should utter insults with caution, even if they be in good spirits, else Princess Hopps' omniscient ears may catch your tongue!" Paratus dryly joked, drawing an agreeing chuckle from Nick, but within a breath the warmth in his steely expression had solidified once more. "But what do you wish from me, Prince? I've had the copies of the Princess's depiction of the assassin passed to Marshal Fenus, just as the Emperor requested."

"Has he distributed them amongst his captains?" Nick halfheartedly pressed, his tail falling between his legs as a slight frown emerged on his brow, but the huge fox only replied with a stiff shrug and uncertain shake of his head.

"I am already in desperate need to meet him, and I see no reason to delay an audience with him for an hour longer," Nick noted with a hint of urgency, his paw rising to pull at the fur along the underside of his chin as he blankly glanced over at the river's incessant flow. He collected his scattered thoughts with a stiff yet resolved nod, his resolved gaze turning up to the Grand Marshal's raised ears and focused stare.

"For now, return to the Palace and aid the Admiral and Vilicus in any way you deem necessary. Once the Marshal has brought me up to speed on the search, I'll make certain your skills are put to better use," He staidly ordered, beginning to pace away from Paratus as his eyes ventured further down the waterfront.

"Until then, Prince Wilde," The Grand Marshal spoke in farewell, issuing a polite bow before he strode off from the Prince's side and started barking orders at the guardsmammals standing at attention along the wide promenade.

Nick didn't waste an instant idling by the massive fox or his cohort, instead setting off for the long stone bridge further up the riverside street at a hasty pace, his tail closely trailing like a banner in a southern wind. The roads were heavy with the joint foot traffic of merchants crossing from the river's opposite bank and the muttering of locals attending to their daily chores.

Nick paid little mind to the busied crowd, his arms folded in an orderly manner behind his back as he weaved between carts packed with bags of flour and the families drawing them towards the market road. His thoughts and eyes alike were more concerned with the hundreds of white tents sprawled like flecks of snow on the hills beyond the Burrow's walls, and as his feet guided him through the Burrow's stone gate and up towards that of the camp he felt his jaw clench and chest tighten.

Nick's attempt at meeting the stubborn Fennec yesterday had led to naught save a message from a courtier who quite bluntly said he was 'occupied'. Whatever the Marshal's excuse, Nick's own desire to hear fresh reports on his purges among the foxes Third Army – those former associates of _Certus_ \- overshadowed whatever he now presided over. The so-called 'review' presented to his betrothed and him shortly after this dawn's breakfast was an insult to its very name…

The heart of the Imperial camp was as busy as it had been when he'd emerged from the shade of the Emperor's tent with the Crown of Princes atop his head, if there were not _more_ foxes than had been there yesterday, that is. Indeed, several dozen armored foxes with colored sigils sewn onto the leather of their steel armor occupied the grassy square at the camp's center, with a half-obscured fox addressing them from the far side of the clearing.

Striding into the center of the formation, Nick peered above the scores of ears to catch a glimpse of the source of the voice, which he could only assume to be Fenus. He pushed past a number of more-than-startled captains as he maneuvered to the square's opposite end. Much to his surprise, a lanky red fox with a dusty coat was the image that greeted him before the Emperor's tent.

"Prince Wilde!" The unfamiliar fox clad in the ornate steel of a Field Marshal greeted as his pointed speech to the skulk came to a screeching halt, and he half-stumbled to a knee, dumbfounded, and hurriedly bowed his head. "I hadn't received word you would be joining the drills today. And you've arrived without an escort!"

"I'm embarrassed to say my visit was unbeknownst even to me until a few minutes ago," Nick joked with a rather forced grin, and he shifted uncomfortably when the Field Marshal didn't hasten to raise from his bow until he urged him with a swipe of his tail. "But I've come to consult with Marshal Fenus; that is, if he is not preoccupied with his duties."

"Not at all, Prince," The discomposed fox rushedly replied, tossing his head with a humored smirk. "I believe him to still be in his quarters; since I've yet to hear his shouts today."

"Unseri!" He commandingly yelled at an Arctic Fox standing at attention in the first row of Captains, and the ironclad vulpine with a blue gaze as steely as his attire shot over instantaneously. "Escort the Prince to the Marshal's tent, immediately!"

"This way, my Prince," Unseri directed, extending a placid paw towards a well-trodden path leading around the Emperor's tent. Nick expressed his gratitude to both the Captain and the Field Marshal with a curt nod, staying at the tail of his white-furred guide as they left the shouts of the square behind and delved deeper into the busy heart of the camp.

There was a constant din of voices around every tent and down every claustrophobic space between them, brought to even greater volumes by the hammering of the camp's metalworkers and the seemingly constant march of steel boots. Nick nearly recoiled at the repulsive multitude of smells, his nose scrunching as the overwhelming stench of sour wine.

"When did Fenus decide to spend his nights here?" He pressed, half-amazed and half-repulsed as he shook a paw in front of his nostrils and followed the Captain's stark tail through the slim gap between two tents of dozing foxes. "Last I knew he still held his quarters in the Palace with Ambassador Dhani."

"Shortly after your departure," The Captain answered, seemingly unphased by the noise and scents as he guided them across a spacious path swarmed by the camp's followers, and he kept his ears tilted towards a rectangular white-and-red tent beyond the irregular flow of foxes and rabbits. "The Marshal concluded it would be more appropriate if he moved his residence closer to his day's work."

"I wouldn't've expected him to do away with life's little luxuries so easily," Nick dryly commented with a subtle huff of laughter, recalling the time he and the short fox had been forced to share a muddy trench for three restless nights before the walls of a besieged fortress.

"To each their own," Captain Unseri shrugged, his paw falling to his sword's sheath as he positioned himself beside the tent's entryway with a stolid stare. "If you require any of my services, Prince Wilde, I will be waiting here."

With a final bow of his head to show his gratitude Nick passed through the tent's curtains and a chill crept up his spine as the mid-morning sunlight fell to the cozy structure's shady interior. It was much in the same style of the suite he'd first occupied at the Palace, with little furnishing aside from an plain bed and a pair of chairs facing each other opposite it.

Nick perked an eyebrow as he scanned the desolate room, entirely devoid of movement. The only sign that his colleague had once slept here was the unmistakable stink of him in the air and his heavy plate armor resting on a stand beside his unkempt sheets.

Yet mingled with the loud din of the passers-by outside, Nick swore he could hear the sounds of whispers from behind the tent's felt walls. He paced to the right of the bed's headboard and drew back a small overlap in the material - just wide enough for a mammal of smaller stature to slip through -before he peered out.

Maybe his hearing wasn't that far off from his betrothed's, after all.

Marshal Fenus was standing there in the sun between the wall of his tent and the bundles of supplies piled behind it. His hasty expression faced an unseen mammal in naught save white undergarments, and he spoke in a hushed tone to the equally suppressed voice that was undoubtedly that of some vixen.

Nick could only toss his head and back away from the gap in the wall, letting the felt fall back into place as he settled into one of the Marshal's chairs and crossed one leg over the other. He forced himself to remain silent, suppressing the itching urge to shout out some clever quip until the Marshal slid through the gap.

The short fox was grinning merrily, yet that only meant that when he pulled the tent's wall back into place and his eyes caught sight of the Prince waiting patiently the blood drained from his expression and his suddenly inflamed ears collapsed behind his head like the counterweights of trebuchets.

"I never took you for _that_ kind of fox, Finn," Nick scoldingly remarked, his comical grin fueled by the red radiating from the Marshal. "I can only surmise your _foxy friend_ is the reason behind your absence from the Princess' and my company last evening."

"How much did you see," was all the flustered fox demanded, his brown eyes brimming with a concoction of fury and embarrassment and his voice as unwavering as his bristling tail.

"Just you bidding that maiden farewell," Nick nonchalantly replied, chuckling through the pain as his cheeks cramped up. "I don't believe I've _once_ seen you bed down with a vixen! I've been treating you as a traditionalist this entire time, when real-"

The Marshal silenced him before he could finish with a single raised claw, his jaw clamped shut and a serious tint of murder lingering in the air around him. Nick knew better than to try and pursue any more quips. His smile stood firm, however, as the short fox breathed in a deep, calming breath.

"You're lucky the Emperor gave you that crown, else I'd bash your skull in," He threatened, leveling a merciless snarl as he wandered to the armor stand just a few feet from Nick, yet miraculously his ire sizzled down, and Nick raised a fascinated ear at his final grumble. "It's good to see you in fighting condition again."

"Now what brings you to my humble abode?" Marshal Fenus harshly pressed, a solemn glare on his face as he squeezed into his solid steel chest plate. "My intent was to present you and the Princess with my full report at a later hour today."

"I'm afraid I could wait no longer to hear from you," Nick pensively replied, apprehension beginning to reignite beneath him as his tail drew around his chair's leg with a bristle of caution. "Your courtier's report this morning left... _much to be desired_."

"Is the Princess aware of your visit?" The Marshal reflectively queried, his ears perked in interest and his gaze spared Nick a glance as the Fennec pulled his steel mitts over his paws. Nick nodded, shooting onto his feet as the Marshal strode over to a small desk and collected a stack of familiar fliers.

"She and her father are to meet with the Burrow's cardinals at midday," Nick stiffly elaborated, flames of worry rising in his orange pelt at the sight of the copies of his betrothed's sketch of the assassin; the mere thought still sickened him to his core. "I was to join them, but your report is of more pressing importance."

"I'm unsure whether I feel honored by that or sorrowed that I have little to add to the search that you have certainly not heard already," Marshal Fenus retorted, beckoning him over to the desk with a curt raise of his tail. Nick strode to the Marshal's side, dismissing his disgruntled frown as a symptom of the moment, and stared down at the detailed map of the Palace grounds and the surrounding landscape.

"I've had patrols doubled in size and frequency along the Rhine's right bank, since our roadblocks are more scattered there," The Marshal explained, his claw tracing down the river's flow before it drew a wide circle around the Palace grounds. "Meanwhile, I've had scouts take positions in the woods for eight miles in every direction. If so much as a mouse snaps a twig, word will reach us."

"And have there yet been any such disturbances?" Nick pressed anxiously, and though he suspected he knew the answer when the short fox shook his head he could do little to stop his ears from plastering to the sides of his skull.

"But, as you're aware, I have received the handouts from the Grand Marshal, so let us hope these will stir the pond, so to speak," The Marshal countered hopefully with a rather cheerful smirk, striding past him with a pat on his shoulder. Nick stood dumbfounded for an extra second with his eyes agape before shaking his head in confusion and following in his pint-sized counterpart's footsteps.

 _Do my eyes deceive me, or did Finn just smile?_ Nick disbelievingly questioned, stunned not only by the stony fox's merriment, but by the fact that it appeared to not be spurned by any sarcasm or darker shades of humor. Although as quickly as it'd arrived, with the tent behind them and Captain Unseri's straightened form before them both, whatever skip that had been in the stubborn fox's step had fallen back into line.

"Captain! How fortunate that you're here," The Marshal confidently greeted, and Nick lifted his tail in fascination as the short fox raised a paw toward the white-furred officer. "My Prince, may I introduce you to Captain Unseri, one of the finest foxes of my command – dare I say the finest of his stock!"

"I've already had the pleasure of meeting him," Nick coyly told, watching with a polite smile as the Captain sent him a courteous bow, and Marshal Fenus' wide, puzzled eyes darted between the two of them for an instant before a silent grunt slipped from his chest.

"I suppose you stumbled across Field Marshal Trasen, then," He swiftly surmised, blinking away his confusion with an amused huff while his eyes trained themselves onto the Captain's. "No wonder he sent Unseri as your guide. The Captain is the most devoted fox on this side of the River Rhine, as you are the most honorable, my Prince. I suppose you won't be missing out on much for the Third's drills today, Captain?"

Captain Unseri firmly shook his head at the Marshal's query, but Nick tensed his arms and felt the fur along the back of his neck rise at the question.

"Those foxes in the square - and this fox here - are of the Third?" He tersely repeated, his clawed toes pulling at the damp grassroots. He made no effort to hide his suspicion at the revelation.

"That criminal's stench mars the legacy of our name, Prince," Captain Unseri defiantly spat, turning Nick a shade surprised by the passion embedded onto his until-now passive face and forcing his alarm down his throat with a gulp. "Our valiant tradition may have been compromised by the actions of that _whore's kit_ , but there is not a single tod of authority under its banner who now questions your right to rule."

"He speaks truthfully," The Marshal confirmed, turning his solemn gaze up to meet Nick's stare. "I've yet to sign my full findings, but my inspection of Certus' contacts has revealed very little in the way of accomplices. In his former suite there were only faint traces of his courtier's scent alongside his, but we know that Sechuran to be of fair heart. "

"Aside from some unrelated miscreants more brigands than soldiers that I have personally _dealt with_ , it appears the Third is clean of traitors," The Fennec retrospectively concluded, straightening himself as his paw tightened around the pile of fliers, and he didn't attempt to hide the subtle flick of his eyes at the snow-coated Captain. "In fact, I believe the time is soon approaching to appoint a new Marshal."

"But that's a conversation for another hour," The Marshal conceded in a wily manner, extending his left paw towards the Captain and motioning for him to take the papers. "Here. _This_ is the fox Princess Hopps believes poisoned her drink. Deliver these to Field Marshal Trasen at once before he dismisses the Captains to their patrols."

"It will be done, Marshal," The Captain vowed, taking the fliers along with an extra second to study the black ink on the harsh yellow pages before he hurried off down the settled street. Nick followed his ironclad form with a squinted gaze, watching while his haunches bristled beneath his leather skirt. That fox was plotting against him; he could sense it in his walk, the way he would glance down at the pages, the _inflection_ of his voice when he questioned his loyalty.

"Nicholas."

Nick hardly heard the Marshal's voice and felt a tight grip clutch his bicep through a numb veil.

"Are you alright?"

He hadn't noticed his lips had drawn back in an unstifled snarl, leaving the white of his pointed teeth to the prying gazes of the vixens and other camp followers, until he met the Marshal's concerned frown.

"Yeah," Nick answered halfheartedly, rapidly shaking his head as a wave of weariness flooded his form and dragged his spirits earthward. "Merely… this situation has me on a razor's edge. Wherever I look I am greeted by the thought of that _assassin_. I am hardly safe even in my sleep."

"Well, then," The Marshal muttered uncertainly, stifling a gulp before he extended a guiding paw and started a stroll down the now mostly calm street. "I trust your excursion to the mountains was pleasurable, aside from what's already come to pass?"

"Very much so," Nick unenthusiastically answered, staying by the Marshal's side and managing a pleasant smirk and reinvigorating chuckle as he pictured the hilly lakeside. "The Princess may be of a timid species, but she has undone me to the point of exhaustion."

"I can tell," The Marshal humorously noted, turning his eyes up to the Prince with a perked brow while his black nose twitched at the end of his snout. "Your scent betrays you like a ripple on water."

"At least Lepidus had the _courtesy_ to keep his mouth shut," Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his steel chest plate in an attempt to keep his composure, but he was helpless to halt a tide of red from flushing his cheeks and pulling his ears down.

"Lepidus was your host?"The Marshal almost shouted in amusement, his eyes brimming with laughter and his grin drowning in memory. "How does that old fool fair? Last I heard he'd drowned himself in the sands of the Camhara!"

The purple-and-red clad tabby rose from his deep bow and departed from the foot of the throne with a contented grin painted on his muzzle and with his sleek tail snaking behind him like a loosened string in the wind. Judy's gaze followed the satisfied feline and his unarmed entourage of diplomats as they struck out across the hall's expansive floor pleasantly, basking in the invigorating morning sun - fluttering down in odd patches onto her well-fitting teal gown - and the success of their discussion alike.

The four days spent back in the protection of the palace since the Prince and she had disembarked from the galley's hellish heat were packed with the duteous work she'd inevitably expected of her new position. From dawn until dusk she and her foxy betrothed, who sat to her side with his chin raised proudly and tail crossed over his paws, took part in all the diplomatic pleasantries and administrative duties that their fathers had since surrendered to them in their own absences.

It was difficult, draining work, yet necessary. She did not mind it in the slightest – in fact, she'd rather enjoyed the many faces she would cross paths with, even if she could only exchange few words of wisdom. In a way it was reminiscent of the evenings she would entertain visiting ladies while her father was unable to treat with them, albeit in place of idle chatter they discussed topics weighted with far more gravity.

Nicholas dragged the Princess' attention away from the room with a slip of a contented sigh once the courtly felines and the entourage of fox and rabbit representatives trailing them passed into the palace hallways. The two of them were left alone in the company of statuelike court guards scattered at the many columns and the unassuming Castellan Vilicus, too involved in hushed conversation with a young courtier to bother to approach.

Her eyes studied his radiant face and lighthearted smile attentively and her ears raised with him in unison as he paced a step from the throne, his paws clasped behind his waist.

"And now the honor of debate is relinquished to Mercatus and Advectius," He optimistically announced, his grin turning a shade more sarcastic while the end of his lively tail made perfect circles in the air. "Better them than either you or I to prattle on over maritime boundaries and tariffs. I know as much of that as I do of the preparation of bakemeat!"

"Do not so easily forget that you and I must attend the summit with my father's ministers at midday, my Prince," She dryly reminded, an underpawed grin pulling at her cheeks as she rose to stand in front of him and daintily ran her fingers up the underside of his muzzle. "A lesson in such matters will be beneficial to us both. And do not use your sly tongue to try and slip from it or I _will_ be forced to shave you."

"I would not dream of committing such a crime!" He brushed off, his offended tone making her roll her eyes and fold her arms over her chest while she waited for his forced act to come to a close. His steel-clad chest puffed out proudly while he strode down the throne's even steps, the tufts of orange and cream-white peeking from between his lighter steel plates sending a spark of excitement up her spine and forcing her folded ears up once again.

"That is," the Prince thoughtfully went on, pausing for a moment at the final step with a thumb holding his chin and the back of his other paw resting on the base of his tail, "if we manage to arrive at the allotted hour for once."

A hard blush marred Judy's face while her head shrunk uncomfortably into her shoulders and an awkward grimace took hold of her muzzle. Of all the things he could tease her for, he brought up _that_ ballast of embarrassment?

"I thought we were in agreement to never speak of that again," She quietly murmured, bearing her teeth defensively at the Prince's wry smile, but he approached up the steps unintimidated by her half-hearted display. Rather, he looked amused by her unsteady humiliation.

"I believe the words you so carefully chose were 'never tell anyone _else_ of this'," He clarified wryly, leaning onto his knees and bopping her indignantly twitching nose. "And we are mute here, among these foxes and speaking in the common tongue."

Despite her own doubt, she knew her betrothed was not playing some ploy - a hasty glance around the few scattered guards, more concerned with keeping the peace than an eye on them, made such clear. She gulped and straightened as much as the blushing red in her cheeks would allow, not the slightest part eased at reliving the memory of waking from her heavy slumber.

Those nights under the merciless glimmer of the sun-stroked moon had left both Nicholas and her starving for sleep, and it certainly hadn't been _her_ fault that Ambassador Dhani's impatient calls the morning after their arrival had fallen on deaf ears. Her betrothed's doting, jovial emeralds were still staring down at her as she blinked away the black and rolled into consciousness…

"Besides, it is not oft I rouse from my first sound sleep in days to find a rabbit cuddling with my tail and nibbling on my fur," The Prince lightly poked, drawing Judy back to reality with a guiding paw on her waist. His toothy grin and half-lidded gaze were doused with splotches of pink while his snaky tail weaseled its way between her crossed arms, chipping away at her tense façade and inciting her to shake her head scoldingly.

"Sly fox," She warmly scoffed, pushing past the russet tip of his tail tickling at the bases of her ears and hurrying down the throne's steps, her smile now more filled with affection than embarrassment. That fox knew how to play her like a lute, even if his paws were not quite as proficient at striking notes as he believed them to be.

"Still so red, rabbit?" He spiritedly called after her, clearly not yet having his fill of teasing her insecurities, and she stopped dead in her tracks on the empty floor and halfway turned to stare at his unsurmountable confidence with a tiny smirk, waiting with her toes bouncing eagerly as he unhurriedly delivered himself to a splash of golden sunlight before her. "How profoundly have I ruffled that tail of yours, Fluff?"

"You tell me," She nonchalantly replied, stretching her arms above her and arching her back while she wriggled her cotton ball tail. A mischievous grin emerged on her muzzle and her heart leapt in guilty humor as she witnessed the steady fall of his flustered ears and bristling tail and the dilating of his pupils brought on by the sight of her presentable cloud.

"I have no choice but to treat it in the sun, it seems," She sighed, feigning weariness as she unhurriedly meandered across the cool stone floor and through the massive doorway at the end of the hall. She paused for a moment before turning down the decorated hallway, inviting her motionless betrothed, who was still gaping at her from the splash of sun, to follow with another rousing flick of her tail.

She heard him oblige with the patter of his steel boots, and with a lighthearted huff she hurried off towards the sunlight at the far end of the dimmed corridor, ecstatic in the knowledge she held sway over his attentions as much as he had over hers. Though with everything they'd done and how much of each other they'd… _experienced_ , that revelation was not as flustering as it had once been.

The excruciating heat of recent weeks had been overcome by the first stirring breezes that hinted at the ever-timely approach of autumn. The sun was hardly as scorching as the day of their departure, its heat further diminished to a pleasant warmth with the overhanging clouds, and though the trees had yet to shed their leaves, the first traces of gold were popping from their chewed edges.

It was a morning ripe for activity. Yet as Judy hastened down the steps and into the gravel paths of the Palace's gardens - vibrant with dozens of shades of green amid the carefully-plotted rows of flowers and the featureless, grassy fairground - a nipping feeling of regret and fear burrowed through her pelt.

 _If that vagabond's poison found its mark…_ A fretful voice reminisced, stopping her dead in her tracks as her pupils shrank to the size of pennies. Had that assassin's plan come to fruition, there would be none of this; no rays of sun enlivening her gown with comfortable warmth, no gentle breeze ruffling the tips of her ears, no plans for marriage, no love, no Prince…

With a pointed shake of her head she shook that thought from its pestering and took a brief respite from her quick pace in the absolving sun. Her paws clenched into fists as she forced her attention elsewhere, trying with all her might to refrain from falling into a depressive slump. Nearly instantaneously the air gently swept past her, as though a mammal above had read her wishes, rustling the bushes all about her as a reminder of where she stood.

The lovely scents of the late-blooming daffodils, irises, and roses cleansed her nostrils as Judy took in their immaculate colors: royal purples, golden yellows, ruby reds, and deep blues at a comfortable, meandering pace. She treated herself to what seemed like hundreds of the flowers, pacing along the garden's straight gravel paths until she swore she'd seen every color in a springtime rainbow.

Yet she only reached out to those that bloomed the widest and stood the tallest, cupping them in her paws and drawing in deep, tasty sniffs. Truly they were as entrancing as the invigorating smell of fine spices. With a delighted grin, she reached for a single rose that peaked from a lavender bush; an awesome flavor of crimson amidst a sea of purple.

She hardly heard Nicholas come plodding down the gravel path until he was almost atop her, and when she whirled her eyes and ears to meet his she smirked at the heavy pants escaping from his muzzle.

"What held your attention for so long, Prince?" She mildly pressed, leaning her muzzle forward to taste the petals' scent without drawing her curious ears, nor doting gaze, away from her betrothed. "Don't tell me I scared you from following!"

"Ha!" Nicholas managed to retort, grinning affectionately while his breath caught up to him and while leaning against the white-painted pillar of the roofless wooden frame they stood under. "A rabbit? Dissuading a _fox_ from pursuit? If only it were as fascinating as that, Cottontail. Vilicus merely wanted to share a word before we _both_ ran off unceremoniously."

"Anything of note?" She asked, interest forcing her nose to wriggle as the Prince walked over to her side, yet her ears shot high in surprise before she heard a response. Prince Wilde leaned over her arms, virtually placing his head in her paws as his dark purple nose sniffed at the lavender-scented rose she still held.

Judy felt her heart lurch skywards at the soft brush of his muzzle on her thumbs, and she couldn't stop herself from grinning wildly, her cheeks turning a shade of red much like the rose's as she stared down at her fox. His face, though so familiar, was just as foreign as the first time she'd seen it from her moonlit balcony. The sharp edges along his cheeks still filled her with wonder, the cleft in his ear a permenant reminder of all that they'd been through. Likewise, the stark white of his teeth, in a subtle manner, instilled fear. But she knew better than to blindly give in to her natural instincts…

Then her loving focus shifted a whisker higher, and her eyes widened out of amazement and envy alike. The Crown of Princes sat upon his head, a cast in iron that he was just as much the Prince of an entire species as he was her lover. It was unlike the style of her ceremonial crown – a copper circlet with deep purple sapphires infused with the metal – in the authority it held from its simplistic, featureless appearance. Instead, its power was held in history, a lineage of past Emperors and Princes who'd donned the piece.

Indeed, she'd been much more bewildered the first time she'd seen Nicholas wearing it as he marched into her suite than she was now, but it still took her by surprise to see him wearing something so… _exquisite._ She very nearly grumbled that she had nothing to don of the same nature.

"Not much," Nicholas finally answered with a nonchalant shrug and unimpeded grin, withdrawing his muzzle from her paws and shaking her from her envious brooding and forcing her ears high again with the tender touch of his tail against her lower back. "The Emperor has arrived in Wien, to a celebration on a scale of immeasurable grandeur."

"I hardly believe he would arrive to anything _less_ than that, frankly," She blithely commented with a dry smile, her paws clasping midair with the Prince's as she turned herself away from the lavender to face him head-on, and her remark drew a humored snicker from him.

"When did you rabbits learn to become so judgemental?" He sarcastically asked with a wry smile, and he drolly tilted his ear and unintentionally shifted his crown so that its spotless surface reflected the sunlight like a Hoplite's shield.

"The hour you began to wear that crown!" She half-facetiously remarked, grinning still, her disgruntled tongue working quicker than her mind could control. It didn't take more than an instant for the reality of her words to strike her like a battering ram against a city gate, and all the blood drained from her face as her face recoiled away from Nicholas's speechless stare and bristling tail.

"I mean-" She clumsily stuttered, clearing her throat as she sprung onto her toes and apologetically lifted their clasped paws up to her chest, her awkward smile hardly the tip of the iceberg of her frantic horror. "It complements your armor very well! Not to mention that it emphasizes your- your-"

A velvety finger pressed against her lips before she could finish, effectively ending her unplanned outburst and her pawhold with the Prince alike. She clamped her jaw shut and clasped her paws together, her eyes wide as the Prince's speechless façade ebbed into a half-lidded, seductive stare and an equally prying grin that revealed the sharp pattern of his teeth.

"Is some rabbit jealous?" He rhetorically asked as his lighthearted emeralds darted between her barren forehead and her rigid stare, visibly amused by the ever-brightening heat in her cheeks as his tail began to steadily wag behind him. "Where may your crown be? Do you even own one, my Princess?"

"Of course I do!" She loudly cried, defensively slamming her heel into the gravel ground and tapping her foot angrily, sending some rocks bouncing away down the path. "You have seen it with your very own eyes! You were there when the Castellan asked to see it and took it away to be polished for our wedding!"

"Is that so?" The Prince tonelessly asked, clearly not expecting a response as he took a pace away from her and reached out towards the lavender bush with a paw. His claws quickly sliced off several stalks of lavender, and with a flick of his tail he turned his back towards her and began to maneuver his paws.

Judy could feel the anger brought on by his poking quickly rumbling down to silence, her mind suddenly curious as to what he was doing with the flowers. She strained her neck, trying to peer over his reflective shoulder-plate, yet her frown only deepened as he took another secretive step away. The moment before she opened her mouth to protest he turned to face her once again; the makeshift trinket he held out towards her flipped her frown upside down and made her soundless voice catch in her throat.

"Then I hope this will suffice for the moment, at the very least," He calmly reflected with a humored blink, passing the circlet of entwined lavender stems, trimmed along the front with the entrancing flowers of their namesake color, into her stunned paws. She stared down at the piece, shocked and silent, unable to put into coherent words how the gesture plucked at her very heartstrings.

Her paws only brought the flowered circlet above her head once her amethysts had finished admiring its craftsmanship. Her fretful fingers gently clutched its rim like the paw of a newborn kit, afraid that it may unravel into a thousand pieces or blow away in the timid breeze, but amazingly, it defied her worries and wrapped around her skull as fittingly as her tight teal gown.

Her eyes shot to her betrothed as his aiding paws supplanted her own, carefully adjusting the circlet atop the bases of her ears with a flicker of warmth in his deep emeralds. A beam took hold of her muzzle and, quietly, she giggled at the subtle tenderness in his expression, although he stiffly perked an ear at her gaiety.

"Everything you do, no matter how _furious_ it may make me, only furthers my reasons to marry you," She giddily told, her tone filled with unhindered love, and she threw herself into her fiancé with her arms curled like vines around his obstructive chest plate and her bunched cheek pressed against the side of his face..

"Despite that our union is arranged?" Nicholas flatly queried, squeezing her back affectionately before their bodies separated, and Judy shook her head at the sarcastically serious stare that bore through her skull.

"As though we're _still_ marrying each other because of our fathers' interests," She dryly huffed as she locked her elbow with the Prince's arm, and her grin returned with even greater vitality when the Prince mumbled a loving curse under his breath.

The two of them paced down the sunny gravel tracks without much of any hurry, enjoying the comfortable silence between them and the menagerie of petals sprouting at their sides. Judy walked with a spritely skip in her step, absorbed by the moment and the crown resting atop her head alike. She stifled a sigh as she thankfully leaned the side of her skull against her betrothed's arm, drawing in long, soothing breaths of his scent as they turned down a cool, shady gap in the neat rows of hedges. How many more days before their wedding? 10? That was still 9 days too long a wait…

Yet the illusion of peace about her methodically shattered as she and Nicholas stepped onto the marble promenade running around the garden's edge, where the hedges gave way to a short stone rail and a detailed view of the expansive Burrow below. Her arms tightened around Prince Wilde's as her eyes scoured the distant towers of smoke rising from the city's chimneys, entirely unnerved that it was a not-so-distant possibility a plotting fox stood somewhere below, staring back without her ever knowing.

"I have a suspicion our minds are working as one," Nicholas gravely announced, drawing his half-bristling tail to her other side in response to her ever-squeezing grip. Judy managed an observant glance up at his unsmiling profile so unlike his droll character and that tore along the horizon, as though it was searching for the elusive figure that'd swiped at their lives.

"Even inside these walls of stone, I can hardly grant myself enough distraction from that… _fox_ ," She uncertainly confessed, curtly sighing as her ears flopped lifelessly onto her back, hardly noticing the gradual curl of her betrothed's claws against the granite railing through the needle of apprehension pricking the back of her neck. "Violence, it seems, has marred every step of our lives, but it's never felt so… _personal_ until now. Even after my assault at the paws of Lord Caer's henchmammals I hadn't felt the sole target of his misguided intentions – more like a pawn."

"The Electors aren't driven by insanity, like that old rabbit," The Prince half-growled half-spat, the unbridled red in his tone taking her completely by surprise, but the crimson only lasted until his eyes met hers and turned back to a cool shade of green. "They're like Certus. Calculating, numb, and lusting for influence, yet always behind closed doors. Never willing to get their own paws dirty, but more than eager to hire another to. If everything was not moving so quickly, I'd march down to Wien and confront them myself."

"The Emperor is a thoughtful, crafty mammal, though I may disagree with some of his methods," Judy hesitantly noted, her distant glare hardening like brick and a minute frown entrenching on her face as the image her betrothed's bruised body and blackened eye jumped from memory, but she shook the thought from mind virtually the instant it surfaced. "But he's a good heart. I hope he'll make as much an impression on the Electors as he has on the world."

"He shall; I guarantee it, on pain of severing my own paws," Nick heartlessly snickered, a pointed huff escaping him as his humorless gaze returned to grimly surveil the busy world below. "But that does little to alleviate the problem of this _vagrant_ hunting us."

"It's been many hours since I was last briefed on the Marshal's search," She mentioned in an enthusiastic tone, trying to coax both herself and her fox from the frigid air surrounding them. "Did you hear any fresh words after we returned from our excursion last evening?"

Judy let her ears rise hopefully, her attentive gaze warmly staring up at the side of her betrothed's face as the wind played with the tips of his cream white cheek fur. His sunlit expression remained lost in the memory of their stroll along the pine-forested hill towering over the palace grounds for a long moment, but as a cloud overcame them, plunging them into shade and the cool wind alike, he shook his head.

"If I had, you would've been the first mammal I'd tell," He disgruntledly asserted, his body hanging a tad limper as he pulled his lifeless arm from her grasp and leaned onto the railing with a sharp lash of his tail, deliberately facing away from her. "But no. _Nothing_. Not even a hint of a trace of a scent of _anyone_ notable. Only some rabbits here to decorate the cathedral for the ceremony."

Judy felt a dagger pierce her ribs as she stared on at Nicholas, his downcast expression and flattened ears physically straining her heart. She urged herself forward with a resolute beam, unable to stand idly by for so much as a blink longer, and her arms curled around his bicep, pulling his paw once more over her chest, while her cheek comfortingly pressed into the fluff of his own.

"Maybe that is news to be welcomed," She animatedly chided, her twitching nose taking in long tastes of her betrothed's strong scent as his electric green gaze swept down to meet hers. "After all, we are not even certain if this fox has pursued us beyond the Aar Valley. His scent trail was flying south, not within ten leagues of our escort if memory serves me right. You just need to clear your mind and cease your fretting, Nicholas."

"It would certainly ease the toll of security for the wedding if what you say is true," The Prince dotingly conceded, not without a flash of hesitancy in his tone, yet with a half-worn, half-vital grin he gazed off towards the sun's rays peeking through the layers of grey overhead. "There's still so much to achieve in such short a time! Even with your father as the paramount architect of this ceremony, I will be speechless if he manages to construct it with such skill."

"It's a daunting task he's eager to surmount," Judy humorously acknowledged, basking in the invigorating warmth of her betrothed's fur as her eyes shifted from his fiery face. "Yet we still have our own work set out for us. There's a great many choices to make regarding décor, feasts, and not to mention our attire on the day."

"Don't hasten to forget our wedding bands," Nicholas lightly scolded with a cocky flick of his ear. Judy stared off at the distant skies of blue now rising from beyond the northern horizon, absorbed by the thought of donning an expensive ring of gold and jewels until she reminded herself of the lavender circlet resting above her brow. With a heartful smirk her gaze flickered shut and she pressed her muzzle against the side of the Prince's face, letting their whiskers tussle like blades of grass.

"So long as you're the craftsmammal, I could not care if our wedding bands were made of diamonds or sticks," She affectionately murmured, nuzzling against his soft fur without interruption. She only spared a curious glance up at his flustered expression when his paw pressed against her chest tensed, and the hard red of his blush layered against the orange of his face made her giggle lovingly. To see such a blush on such a stoic mammal!

"Come now," was what he replied with, sparing a last glance at the peaking sun before finally meeting her prying eyes with a doting, awkward grin plastered onto his muzzle. "We've a council to attend to."

The palace hallways were eerily silent, with the throne room as still as a sealed tomb, the air unmolested by the modest voices Judy had expected to greet the Prince and her. Only the guards positioned along the hall's columns stood attentive, not one of the King's advisors or even their courtiers present to assemble before them.

"Are you certain the King instructed us to gather here?" Nicholas asked with a perk of his ear, and Judy replied with a resolute nod as she settled back into the sun-warmed stone of her throne, her brow furrowed into a curious frown.

"It's most unusual for them to be so untimely," She noted with a tad of apprehension pricking at her neck, and she raised a finger up to her mouth as the sunlight simmered from the stained-glass windows overhead. In one instant the room was as cool and motionless as a cavern, the sudden shift of the air itself making her wriggle uncomfortably against the unyielding press of the throne. It was as though someone had cast a spell of shadow over the world. Something was amiss…

Her ears shot high like the slings of trebuchets when the approaching patter of feet against the stone floor echoed from the otherwise silent hallway. No more than an instant later a sole, tunic-clad courtier shot through the enormous doorway and fell to a bow before them.

"Apologies from Castellan Vilicus, my Prince and Princess," The corsac fox swiftly levied with a second, apologetic bow of his white head, yet Judy remained stiff as his brown gaze turned up to meet the Prince's and hers. "His valued judgement was required in the negotiations with the Ambassadors from Meowlan **[2]**. The debate, I must digress, has run far longer than anticipated."

"I trust that delays our meeting with my father's advisors, then," She unenthusiastically commented with a wary tilt of her head, sparing a brief glance over at her betrothed's intrigued expression and raised tail before the courtier nodded.

"As it seems, Princess Hopps," He instantly confirmed, yet he did not race to a hasty departure as she had expected but rather stepped aside with his paws held behind his belted waist. "But the honorable King Hopps comes before you now, bringing with him visitors of the highest pedigree."

"Visitors?" Nicholas repeated with a puzzled frown that mimicked her own, and with a twitch of his tail his puzzled emeralds turned towards her. "I was under the impression there were no more mammals to host until tomorrow's evening."

Judy cracked her mouth to voice agreement but bit her tongue when her tilted ears traced the emerging approach of a party of mammals. She straightened as well as she could, her frown yet to cease as some score of steel-clad, spear-armed rabbits marched into the hall and ordered themselves beside their vulpine counterparts. Her paws gripped the arms of her throne as King Hopps stepped into view, his golden crown perched merrily atop his head and his long crimson doublet swaying at his knees as he marched before them, grinning wildly.

"My Prince Wilde and Princess Hopps," He elatedly greeted with a courteous nod of his head. "It's an honor to stand before your highnesses today, for along with progress on your wedding I am pleased to announce the arrival of the first attendees."

On que, his right paw raised out to the hall's gaping entryway, and Judy shot to her feet without delay, fur bristling and hackles raised in alarm at the breath-silencing sight that greeted her flaming eyes.

The two Princes standing there required no introductions.

* * *

 ***Gasp***

 **A Fox in Shining Armor: Chapter 20 - Soon**

 _ **A surprise... -**_ **Even Sooner**


	22. Interlude 2

**Stay in there, and sincere apologies for the absence! Uni's turning out to be a bit more stressful than I envisioned. Chapter Twenty coming soon, and boy, is it fun!**

 **Countdown until "The Event" - 4 Chapters**

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Huddled in the impenetrable darkness of the dungeon was a sole, malice-fumed fox. Unyielding iron shackles bound his paws and ankles to the other, heavy chains weighed down on him like Bor's hammer, rendering him immobile on the merciless stone. A spiteful growl slipped from his maw as he raised a feeble paw to pull at the collar slithered around his neck, squeezing the air from his lungs and rubbing his flesh a raw red.

Crimson flames flickered in his shadowed eyes when torchlight flooded into the cavernous, silent cell, pouring through a single, miniscule window carved into the oaken door that marked the boundary of his faithless domain. The lock turned, hinges creaked, feet patted against the numbing floor; the imprisoned Bengal fox could do naught but snarl and retreat from the approaching light, the bruises strewn across his malnourished form calling back the last time he'd courted a visitor.

"Who has the gall to face _me_ in such deplorable, inhumane conditions?" He lowly growled at the enlightened silhouette, his limbs shrinking into the ever-dwindling black of the torchlit room until the light danced across his matted tan coat. "Speak, demon!"

"An ally," An earnest voice answered, and the tortured fox stifled a snarl as the warm glow of flames appeared directly before him, rendering his disused eyes blind and his senses overcome.

"I have none who hold that title," He grumbled, blinking until the disorienting ache faded and the orange, flickering world emerged in all its meagre glory. His spiteful glare did not shift from the white, youthful face - hardly younger than his own – that met him, the Arctic fox's steely stare inciting him to curl his arms over his bruised breast.

"Then why do I kneel before you, my Marshal?" The armored newcomer pressed, bowing his head without the slightest sign of displeasure while he lowered to a respectful kneel. The prisoner scoured the visitor with the attention of the most fastidious bureaucrat, silently delving into his unwavering expression and equally firm posture.

"Captain," He murmured in greeting, cleaving the tense silence in the dank air with one swift strike, yet he did not let his guard done with such similar haste. The Captain studied his hesitant, blank frown for a long moment before rising, fixing his torch in a sconce and with drawing a wrapped article from the steel boot of his armor. The enticing, savory scent of cinnamon and pepper flooded his nostrils, his tongue watering at the aromatic taste after so many days of little more than starvation and putrid gruel.

"Three weeks in this hell has left you weak," The Captain noted, a hint of regret in his voice as he once more lowered himself to the prisoner's level and pulled back the wrapper of his concealed parcel, holding out a small loaf of spiced bread for the thin Bengal fox. "Here. Eat."

The prisoner hesitated to reach in fear of retribution before his howling gut finally usurped his instincts. He inhaled the stale loaf zealously, holding every bite on his parched tongue so the flavors danced down his throat. This was no courtly procession; he tore into the meal like an animal, and with both paws he downed half the loaf in a matter of seconds. With every taste his spirits perked, hunger succumbed to a full stomach, and the Captain watched, silent. For a while.

"Marshal, I haven't infinite time to hold your audience," The Captain soon pressed, urgency audibly straining his hurried voice, yet the Bengal fox only tilted an ear as he went about devouring the remainder of the bread. "I am in dire need of your consultation."

"Yet you've the days to sit idly by and allow that ignoble _fox_ who reigns above to torture me?" He accused, disgruntled, taking a brief respite from his meal and meeting the steely gaze of the Captain with a stark glare. "I assume you've weathered the storm, else you'd be by my side clad in shackles."

"Marshal Fenus purges your Army of those who dare speak the truth as we converse," The Captain apprehensively reported, brushing off the sharp comments of the prisoner with an unnoticeable lash of his marble tail. "Alas, we are more isolated in our cause than even Oxdysseus cast upon the high seas. Field Marshal Sapidus and Field Marshal Trasen have reaffirmed their loyalties to the Emperor and Prince, as have I and all my counterparts. Not one fox in the Third Army dares to openly question the legitimacy of the throne, aside from the brigands who've the _audacity_ to call themselves fair soldiers."

"I made certain there would be no trace of my righteous course," The Bengal Fox asserted, his gaze shifting to a distrusting squint as it darted onto the Captain's white profile. "Not once did I plot with any fox in my service. How fortunate your lips have remained sealed."

"I would not so lightly betray the Empire, as our cohorts and liege have done," The Captain staunchly asserted, very nearly taking offense at his counterpart's harsh tongue, yet his cool façade quickly fell into the grasp of a fiery harangue. "Have you so easily forgotten that it was _I_ that chanced upon the Night Howlers in your quarters? I did not betray you to the Emperor then, but rather aided you with my own two paws! I shall _never_ deceive a fox of virtuous lineage and character." **[1]**

"By my paws I shall see you a free fox and the Emperor's skull speared upon a stake!" The Arctic fox finished with a voracious snarl, his crimson eyes having fallen to melt a hole in the stone floor, yet with a curt breath and toss of his head the storm calmed below his skull and his adamantine demeanor returned. "But you must assist me by recounting what you know."

The imprisoned fox gazed over the Captain with a suspicious eyebrow lifted. His nose twitched as he took in the sweaty, dirty scent of his armor, untouched by the extravagant tastes of spice and wine any other mammal would indulge in. Had bribery been at play, there was no doubt his taste would be of the finer luxuries, and if it had been betrayal, then of blood.

With a wordless, conceding nod he permitted the Captain to speak.

"My most gracious thanks, my Marshal," The Arctic fox mannerly replied, sending him a hasty bow before his ears shot up attentively and his urgent expression straightened. "That twilight some weeks ago during which you slipped away to procure more of the virulent flowers for the Prince, you told me of two foxes from whom you purchased the substances. Can you recount their titles or status?"

"They are named Pestis and Halosis," The prisoner carefully answered, trying to recall the hooded mammals through the fog of time with what few scraps of recollection he held. "An ash-coated fox and another having fur whiter than snow. They are the most proficient killers in all of Foxkind – at least that is what they told me - though there are two others in their clique. Where they disappeared to after the chaos at the feast I've no clue, though I have little doubt it was to Wien."

"Is this the visage of either of them?" The Captain pressed, intrigued, his stiff stare unwavering and his heightened tail swaying as he pulled a folded square of parchment from his boot and passed it. The prisoner did not study the page for more than an instant before he dropped his loaf onto the floor and brought the flyer closer to the dancing flame.

"Indeed, that is Pestis, in his venomous self" He delightedly confirmed, wholly surprised by the accuracy of the visage sketched on the parchment, and with a fascinated shift on his rear he delivered the page back to the Captain's outstretched paw. "Where did you procure such an illustration?"

"Prince Piberius and Princess Hopps have just returned from the Emperor's Estate after a furlough of some weeks," The Captain explained while he hid the page in his boot once more, and the prisoner listened to him with an ever-rising grin while gradually leaning forward. "The night before their departure, the Princess's drink was poisoned by Hemlock. This is the fox she believes attempted to snuff out her life, and rumors have begun to spread through the chain of command that the Electors were assisting this assassin."

"Rumors!" The prisoner exclaimed with a wide smile, grunting unsteadily as he forced himself onto his feet and brushed off the supporting grip of the Captain with a wave of his paw. "Ha! Truth be thy name, Captain. A letter I sent to those honorable mammals, the _true_ rulers of the Empire, contained my pledge of loyalty, and a second the outline of my plan."

"It appears they've started at it where my own paws did fail," He speculated, deep in thought for an abrupt moment, but in the blink of an eye his fury had returned, coloring his fur with streaks of black blood – though that may've been a shadow. "This fox is our chance to usurp the felonious tyrants who lay claim to the Empire's titles! Who bed down with _rabbits_ , of all creatures! _Horrendous!_ Find Pestis before the Emperor frees his skull from his throat and grant him whatever he desires to deal with these despots!"

"I will see it so, my Marshal," The Captain proclaimed with a curt nod and a light smirk, and the prisoner's white maw pierced through the air as his fingers flexed in excitement and ambition.

A sharp, metallic clang echoing from the unlit hallway beyond the cell's iron entry shattered the illusion of privacy and sent both fox's ears rocketing upwards. What followed were the unmistakable clanks of approaching feet, and at them the prisoner darted onto the floor, hiding the half-finished loaf of spiced bread under his tail while his rattling chains settled.

"I will attempt a return, in time," The Captain swiftly promised, pulling the torch he'd brought from the wall's sconce and retreating across the dimming floor with soundless steps. "Do not allow your spirit to be limited by those shackles, for soon you will once again be eating off silver platters."

"My trust in you is not misguided, I foresee," The Bengal fox stoically remarked, and he leaned into the fading light with his eyes shrouded in darkness and a raised paw in the light. "But do promise my wounded soul one thing."

The Captain paused, staring at him with his paw on the hulking handle of the cell door and his ears perked, harking to hear.

"The Princess must _make amends_ for her transgressions," The prisoner mercilessly commanded, straining his body forward into the edge of the orange glow with a wild snarl fumed by malice etched into his muzzle. "And the bastard fox who claims her paw must pay the tax with blood."

* * *

 **[1]** Honestly, I don't know why I marked this. Hypocrisy, maybe? Literally all I'm getting are blanks.


	23. Chapter Twenty

**HOLY GOD. This chapter was truly a MONSTER of a write! I'm fairly certain that had I divided it into two different portions it'd still flow fine, but not this time! Lord above, though, this chapter did drain all my energy for a very long time. Hopefully you all will enjoy it as much as I _enjoyed_ writing it!**

 **No more promises on release dates anymore - with University now in full swing, I can't really pinpoint when I'll have the time to sit down and write a paragraph or two, let alone thirty-something pages!**

 **Regardless, the clock ticks ever closer to midnight...**

 **Countdown until "The Event" - 3 Chapters**

 **And I encourage you to leave a review, even if this was the most _mundane_ thing you've ever read. Any and all feedback is beneficial for a writer!**

* * *

Prince Gregory and Lucas kept at the King's sides, their steps as stiff and coordinated as their straightened ears and steady gazes, standing in stark contrast to their liege's pleasant demeanor.

"My Princes…" Nicholas impartially greeted, his low-hanging tail bristling and dumbfounded wariness rife in his tone. "It's a… surprise to see you!"

 _More like a horror!_ Judy silently hissed, her teeth grinding behind her clenching expression. She could hardly bring herself down the throne's steps to stand beside her betrothed without launching herself at the two well-dressed rabbits with her short claws extended. She could feel nothing but unrefined _rage_ at the turmoil their paws had wreaked.

Even as the Prince's fluffed tail persuasively weaved around her ankle, her outrage only fumed to greater heights beneath her bristling fur and in the ever-reddening depths of her amethyst gaze.

"Had I known their return would be so timely I'd have announced it to your majesties," King Hopps went on merrily, acknowledging her vexation with a simple dismissive flick of his ear. "The fair Lord Younce, to whom I entrusted Prince Gregory and Lucas's reeducation in your absence, had apparently sent me a letter declaring them absolved of their crimes. I'm afraid the added precautions for your security, however, have lessened the speed of the Kingdom's courtiers."

"Not that that is any issue," He politely clarified, and he shuffled to his side and let his half-proud, half-ecstatic gaze address the Princes' warily rising stares. "I am merely thankful my son's minds are clean of their past strife."

Judy couldn't coax herself to share her father's sentiment, and judging by the wary, questionable glare her betrothed was sending the Princes neither could he. These two rabbits standing no more than a few feet before them and who shared her very _blood_ , had tried and very nearly succeeded in assaulting – no, _assassinating_ , her love. To even _suggest_ that they and their compatriots had since changed their ways was as foolhardy as a mouse sailin-

"My most honorable Prince Wilde, I throw down a thousand writs of apology at your feet," Prince Lucas suddenly spoke, shattering the uneasy silence in the room and falling to a submissive kneel in front of Nicholas. The apology in his voice was shockingly believable, as was the almost pained look hidden in his blue eyes. "My actions on that awful day have marred my conscience ever since like a burdened ship upon crags. As honesty reigns in heaven I confess I have only realized the folly of my thoughts in recent nights, yet I can no longer spare myself from torment. Please, I beg of your forgiveness for the troubles my temper has wreaked."

Both Judy and Nicholas stood speechless for a long moment, their eyes wide and ears low as the reality of her brother's apology came crashing upon them. His genuine tone and sincere look of distress flattened Judy's fur and made her mind half-forget why she could stomach her anger at a mammal so truthful. That was, until Prince Gregory came to a kneel beside him.

"My Prince Wilde and Princess Hopps," The stone faced Prince aloofly started, his nose seeming to wrinkle distastefully as his head bowed. "My plots were the archaic tools of savages. Our enemies can no longer be drawn simply by the divides in species, but by the merit of the mammals therein. I express the deepest regret I can muster for not having realized this until my ignorance proved too great to be overcome."

Unlike his younger brother, Judy couldn't tell whether Prince Gregory's words were coming from a place of enlightenment or revenge. His amber gaze was ambiguous, and his stiff, vacant expression remained devoid of any sense of righteous regret. He was either an ally just as numb as before, or he was _himself,_ and so long as he remained as such, so would Prince Lucas.

She felt her paws clench the longer she thought of that, not noticing the steel object Prince Gregory's left paw had covertly pulled from behind his waist until it glinted in the hollow midday light. At the glimpse of his rapier's metallic handle she let out the start of a furious snarl and tensed every muscle in her small body.

 _How_ dare _he?!_ Judy murderously screamed, not hesitating for so much as a breath and preparing to lunge for the blade and wrestle him to the ground, but a velvet paw came flying around her side before she made so much as a peep.

Nicholas's pleading expression and his two wide, loving emeralds urged her to wait. She could hardly believe what he was asking her to do; to stand _idly_ by and wait for the inevitable strike? Her banging chest was starting to burn, but she stood as still and stiff as a statue while Prince Gregory drew his rapier and dropped it down onto the stone floor.

The lonely handle bounced away without ever coming near them.

"I ask for forgiveness, both from you, as my blood, and from God above," Prince Gregory halfheartedly finished, keeping his unwavering glare locked with Judy's for a long instant before it fell back to the floor.

The silence that followed in the wake of the Prince's handle's clang was terribly tense. The very air was as still as the fox and rabbit that stood in it, deep in their thoughts.

It was Judy who turned to stare up at Nicholas's focused, distant expression first. If the decision to forgive rested in her paws, she found herself unsure as to whether she could ever trust, let alone _absolve_ , the two rabbits bowing in front of her. How many times need she remind herself of the hardship they had caused; how close they'd driven _her_ fox to utter misery? No, she couldn't forgive them for an act so foul; not when she doubted the truth of their apologies.

But, would it infuriate her father if she refused to grant them the absolution they asked? She was beginning to convince herself so...

Yet a quick glance towards his still beaming face made her reconsider.

 _He would wish for me to speak my mind._ She uncertainly surmised, her frowning gaze falling to the floor as her teeth bit at the corner of her lip. _But if he_ _believes them to be worthy of return, then who am I to him but a fern to flames?_

Once again, she reminded herself the decision did not lie in her's or the King's paws, but in the Prince's. Her brothers were not begging for _her_ forgiveness, nor that of the Kingdom, but for his alone.

Judy watched with bated breath as his glossed eyes turned down to her with a small smirk and a careful squeeze of her paw. The tint of life in his deep, warm emeralds was reassuring enough for her for the moment, even if it did betray his decision, and she squeezed his paw back.

"We may have had our relationship start on the wrong side of the door, my Princes," Nicholas lightly quipped, his smile continuing to rise while a memory Judy could hardly comprehend flashed behind his face. "As it has been told to me, you've lost many of your brothers to foxkind. The war truly did place a terrible tax on both our species; your upbringing and attitude in such traumatic times is understandable. But now that you're of clearer minds, I can only hope we may work together as allies, so our descendants must never experience the losses that we have."

The effect Nicholas's word had on the Princes wasn't noticeable except for a gradual rise of their heads. Judy gulped down her dissent and folded her ears over her back as the two stony rabbits rose from their bows, neither of them having the courage to speak a word of thanks other than a silent murmur of appreciation.

"Oh, what a wonderful day it is to see my house of good spirit again!" King Hopps merrily chuckled, strolling over from where he'd watched their exchange with a thankful, resolute beam directed at Judy's incessantly twitching nose and the Prince's steady smile. "I will not add the trouble of having them settled to your duties, as busy as they are."

"I trust your quarters are prepared for your return?" Judy rigidly pressed, keeping her cool gaze locked with Prince Gregory's earthward-bound stare while her ears tilted towards Prince Lucas. She was harkening to hear the sincerity of their voices and shatter her belief of their disingenuous apologies, but it was her father that opened his mouth to reply.

"That is what I must deal with today," He nonchalantly answered, trying to facilitate her distrust with a slow, reassuring blink. "They still have a great fine to pay the Kingdom for their past disloyalty, among other duties."

"Then let us hope they'll have the coin for wedding doublets," Nicholas casually joked with a lighthearted swipe of his tail, yet Judy found herself unable to join in his merriment. The unadulterated look of malice and disgust hidden in Prince Gregory's half-sneering muzzle was enough to make her chest freeze like the northern ocean.

"Indeed," King Hopps laughed agreeably, though Judy hardly heard his lively voice.

For the rest of the day her thoughts were swarmed by apprehension. All throughout the midafternoon meetings with ministers and dignitaries the encounter with the Princes made her unable to focus for more than a few minutes at a time. The idea of the two bunnies once again sleeping under the same roof as she and Prince Wilde made her queasier than rabbit stew.

 _I cannot bring myself to believe them.._. She decidedly conceded with a curt exhale, the image of Prince Gregory's stare shooting into her thoughts and Marshal Fenus' daily report fading away to a mumble as her ears stiffly collapsed behind her skull. _No matter how much I dread to utter it, they are plotting some atrocity…_

Still, she kept her lips sealed until the sun had long since fallen behind the pine-swathed hills. Only when she and the Prince were alone on her suite's wide balcony, safely mute to the ears of any who had the gall to eavesdrop, did she dare to voice her discontent.

"You _must_ agree with me, Nicholas," She pleaded, her purple eyes swimming in a concoction of fear and love as her paws clutched against his forearm resting on the cool marble railing. Nicholas's uncertain gaze was cast out to the distant clouds, his brow in a stressed furrow and his tail hanging low and motionless.

"I will admit, I'm… wary of their return," He heavily sighed, turning his doubtful, comforting face to meet the endless worry entrenched into her frowning stare. "I'm more driven by trust in your father's judgement than I am my own opinions; a fox then is not a fox now, in their eyes. But if the past is any indicator of the future, then I'm the stupidest of my kind, yet I won't rule out the hope of good intention. Not yet, anyways."

"My father can hardly say he knows my brothers as I do, Nicholas," Judy gently countered, her resolve only deepening as she pulled her right paw up to cup his soft cheek while the fingers on her left intertwined with his. "That is why I'm asking you to _trust me_. If so much as a traitorous hair remains on their pelts, then it will incite them to vengeful deeds. Have I ever told you of the time I duped Lucas into believing it would be night forever?"

Nicholas tossed his head in reply while his ears shot up from the sides of his skull. A sharp breeze swept around them as he leaned forward, interested, and Judy suppressed a shiver in the biting wind as she was taken back to that day.

"I was very young; maybe five," She unenthusiastically reflected, straining to pull details from the fuzzy colors flashing from her mind's eldest crevices, but she shook herself back to the moment when her betrothed's tail snaked up along her lower back. "Heh, I only remember so much as a bunny can."

"It was the heart of summer, and both Prince Lucas and I were running about in the gardens until he took a fall to his head. When he came to, he insisted all he could see was black, so I acted as though the sun had ceased from the sky. Needless to say, he was petrified, but once his sight returned he and Gregory stormed my study, blindfolded me, and challenged me to duel them both. Needless to say, they left me bruised and tearful."

"Yet today I saw in Prince Gregory the same vengeful spirits as I did then," Judy warily finished with a nerve-wracking gulp, her posture from ear tip to toe tip having grown a thousand times harder over her story's course, and her stony gaze rose from the black world beyond the Palace walls to meet her betrothed's thoughtful stare. "They are plotting some retribution, my Prince, even _if_ my father has welcomed them home with open arms."

Judy felt both her paws tighten around Nicholas's as the supportive spark in his downcast emeralds faded. She could see he was working through her words like the gears of a clocktower, yet his silence only fueled the petrified ache deep in her chest. She felt blood rushing through her ears like a seaside flood while her nose relentlessly twitched at the end of her muzzle as she waited patiently for his reply.

"I… I don't know…" Nicholas wearily sighed, barely managing an exhausted shake of his head as his ears folded and his uncertain eyes locked with hers again. "Treason is a serious charge, Judith, and suspicion is hardly grounds for trial. Certus rots in chains only because of the evidence you gathered of his plot. If anything, the Princes only acted by what they'd been brought to believe, which, thank God, you haven't."

"They, of all mammals, deserve at the very least a chance at redemption," He unenthusiastically decided, and his gaze glossed over ashis face tensed. "In some way it is we who are indebted to them, for it was their assault that led you to Certus's courtier."

Judy could empathize with the Prince's reluctance, but his final sentence made her blood boil like it never had before. To _even suggest_ that what her brothers had done was remotely _excusable_ was the argument of insanity. They and their followers had tried to pierce his chest with sharpened swords and hearts of hate, or had he so _conveniently_ forgotten that?!

" _Never_ utter that again, idiotic fox!" She hissed furiously, jerking her paws away from his and shooting a step away from them with a vicious growl and a glare of crimson. "I am _not_ indebted to their murderous intentions. On the grounds of your logic, I suppose I should _thank_ you for sliding your claws across my cheek, since that, _eventually_ , lead to Certus and the Nighthowlers? Huh? What say you?"

Nicholas had reeled back a step, his tail and ears straighter than rods of steel and the overwhelming fragrance of shock drowning his scent. It was the look of utter hurt in his glazed emeralds that shattered the furnace raging beneath her teal gown, and in a single instant she felt regret and horror shoot through her veins like barbed arrows.

"Nick!" Judy frantically spurted out, her heart burning with apology as she shot up against the creamy underside of his muzzle and wrapped her arms around his midsection tighter than his steel chest plate. "I- I didn't mean it! I-"

"I know," The Prince tenderly soothed, his paw dotingly cupping the back of her head while his tail encouragingly encircled her waist, and an instant's glance up at his wildly green gaze showed her the soft underbelly of his normally callused façade. "Merely… you just grew a little impassioned, fluff."

"Undoubtedly," She halfheartedly acknowledged, taking in deep breaths of his relaxing scent and grinding the side of her face into his soft neck fur, yet even that couldn't seem to rout the anxious frown from her forehead. "Maybe… maybe I'm just in need of rest. With the assassin, Certus, our wedding, and now _this_ …"

"Sounds like the both of us could use another week in the mountains," Nicholas wryly snickered, his tail guiding her with him as he drew them towards the orange glow of her bedroom. All Judy did was roll her eyes in reply as she surrendered to his paws, following alongside his toxically buoyant spirit as the heat from her fireplace washed over her chilled dress.

"Maybe _after_ we're married, sly fox," She warily remarked with a backpawed grin, not daring to break their pawhold nor to move her eyes from Nicholas's as she crawled onto her bed's ruffled white sheets. Her heart still thumped as though tomorrow were a fantasy, though she wasn't certain if it was the unrepressed worry from before or if the heat in her tail was driving it.

"You're not retiring to bed yet?" She asked curiously, sitting up on the bed with her ears high when Nicholas withdrew from their pawhold and strode towards her bedroom's doorway. He shook his head, sending her an apologetic glance as he stepped out into her suite's living space, leaving just his face and a paw in view.

"I've to study the new patrols the Marshal has implemented," He explained with a pointed flick of his ear, a sincere look of determination and regret radiating from his gaze as his claws tightened on the doorway's wooden frame. "I'll join you in a few minutes, so don't fall asleep just yet, Princess."

"You'll find me here," Judy tersely assured, sending him a final, understanding beam and a long blink. He grinned back thankfully and pulled the door shut with a quiet _click_ ; the last glimpse of him she caught was his foxy smile before she fell back onto her bed, her arms and legs sprawled out like a corpse and her unfocused eyes facing her room's dim stone ceiling.

Her chest hadn't ceased its threat to shatter as her gaze flickered over the mundane surface, and her nose began to twitch worriedly as her thoughts were drawn back to the two Princes resting no more than a few hundred feet from her.

 _He doesn't realize so great a danger sleeps under the same roof as him…_ Judy anxiously thought, rolling onto her side while her hard gaze stared out at the moonless, starless sky. Suddenly her legs were as restless as though it were midday, and she rolled off her mattress and strode into the cool night air, shivering as a brumal breeze sliced through her silken dress.

 _There must be_ some _manner through which I can prove to Nicholas that my concern isn't misguided!_ She dourly protested, folding her arms on her balcony's marble railing while her intense gaze fell to the burrow below. _I'm_ certain _it isn't. Gregory and Lucas are planning some fresh attack or rouse; I swear it by my heart's beats!_

"If only I'd the evidence to prove it so," She growled, discouraged. Her frowning amethysts fell earthward and her head hung limp in defeat, yet an instant later her entire body shot straight as a spark of knowledge lit above her ears.

 _When my suspicion of Certus flourished, did I sit idly by and let him plot his coup?_ Judy triumphantly thought, her eyes wide and her foot hastily thumping against the numbing floor while the foundations of a plan rose inside her mind. _If I were to slip down to Gregory's quarters, just for a few minutes…_

"Yes! That's it!" Judy shouted victoriously with a deep grin carved into her muzzle, her body bouncing in anticipation at the ploy she'd developed, but a muffled cough cut her joyous outcry short. Her ears fell stiffly behind her back as she silently sprinted to the corner of her balcony and peered through the candle-lit window just beyond the railing's edge.

Nicholas was leaning over her suite's long dining table, his rapt gaze hard at work sweeping over an expansive map sprawled atop it. Judy breathed a quick sigh of relief that he'd been deaf to her outburst, but a pang of guilt burrowed under her fur as she thought of the promise she'd made to wait for his return.

Yet, it was the bags under his eyes that betrayed his true intention for the evening and reassured her as much as a sight so unnerving could. It'd been impossible for her _not_ to have noticed his tendency, in the days since their return, to refrain from sleep until the first rays of dawn's light. How could she, when the sheets around his invitingly cozy fur were as frosty as alpine dew? The search for the assassin was very nearly draining him to the point of exhaustion; why would she bother foolishly forcing another stress onto him.

"I'll only be gone but a few minutes," She resolvedly reassured herself, darting back indoors and hurrying to her rabbit-sized armor rack with a steadfast lag in her step. "Prince Gregory's suite is only a floor below. I'll gather the evidence of his and Lucas's disloyalty and return before the Prince has even noticed I've gone. And if they're as loyal as King Hopps believes, then my sleep will be all the deeper!"

Judy couldn't quite bring herself to believe that last assurance.

Her fitting steel cuirass was strapped onto her chest within a matter of seconds, and an instant later so were her arm and leg bracers. With a reluctant twitch of her ear she started to reach for her rapier, hanging delicately on a wall mount, only to retract her fingers the moment they glided across its polished grip.

 _It's only a precaution._ She sternly reminded, drawing in a sharp, empowering breath before she snatched the weapon's belted scabbard and sheathed the blade. She seriously hoped she wouldn't have need of its polished edge tonight.

The final preparation of her departure was the simplest, yet Judy undertook it with the utmost care. The stunning circlet of lavender the Prince had crafted to sit atop her head with his own dexterous paws was just as breathtaking as when she'd first experienced its astonishing colors. Its pleasant smell had long since drowned out her own scent, and now as she gently held it in both her paws it suddenly occurred to her that it had acted as the perfect mask.

Judy cautiously placed the crown inside her oaken nightstand's drawer, ensuring that its vines wouldn't unravel onto the floor in an ugly mass, and slowly shut it away with the tips of her fingers.

Had the chilling breeze been stilled Judy would've thought herself to be standing where she had only a few weeks prior, although that warm night seemed a life long since past. With her toes dangling over the balcony's railing and her heart roaring like a torrential stream she could almost picture a shirtless fox standing on the balcony of his suite below, his disinterested gaze focused on nothing in particular.

 _How times have changed_ … Judy melancholically reflected, drawing in a brave breath and puffing out her chest as she stepped off the railing and into the night's cool embrace. Air whirled around her as she plummeted earthward, though this time she hadn't the friendly reminder there was a particular fox waiting to catch her below.

When her toes _finally_ collided with the marble surface of her betrothed's balcony Judy forced herself into an abrupt forward roll that sent a blunt shock through her shoulders. She drew in a sharp, sour breath and glanced up at her suite so may feet above the one she kneeled on now, marveling at the distance between the two as the fear that'd momentarily stunned her mind faded.

Nicholas' suite only vaguely carried his signature vulpine scent, which was surprising given how often he'd visited since their return – that being hardly, except to fetch his armor and doublets. Tonight, however, it was certainly to her benefit, since there was not a single guard posted outside his door.

Judy kept herself swathed in shadows as she stalked down the maze of hallways, her ears high and head low, her feet only daring to take her forward when the air was still and darkness was at its thickest. At this late an hour the Palace's stone walls offered countless stretches of black, and only a few lone guardsmammals, more asleep than awake, patrolled the lifeless hallways. It was little more than a trivial chore to keep herself hidden from their view, and after one last dash she peered around a dark corner

A determined huff slipped past her muzzle when the familiar door to Gregory's suite came into view at the end of a long, featureless hallway. With a quick check over her shoulder she stood up from the shadows and hurried into the dim moonlight pouring in from the corridor's windows. Her footsteps were lighter than petals as she made her way to the bolted oaken door and pressed an ear against its keyhole.

There wasn't so much as a hint of a whisper from the other side. Judy cautiously pushed open the creaky door with painful precision, cracking it scarcely wide enough for her chest to squeeze through when she sucked in her gut and held her breath.

She paused when she was halfway through, her senses sweeping the room from its leftmost doorway to its rightmost window, both of which were locked shut. The stuffy air was heavy with dust and devoid of any incriminating scent, and aside from a few meagre chairs and tables Prince Gregory's quarters were as barren as the orderly hallways. The place had more in common with a looted tomb than royal chambers.

"What?" Judy quietly exclaimed in a mix of caution and bewilderment, her brow more bent than the sharpest of angles. She threw caution to the wind and pushed open the creaky door completely, ignoring the loud groans that echoed down the abandoned hallways as she walked into the empty room.

Inside there wasn't so much as a hair with Gregory's name on it, let alone a trace of his treason. An irked grumble began to rattle Judy's cuirass while the paw she'd rested on her rapier's handle clenched into a fist.

Evidently her father _hadn't_ kept his word to see her brothers settled by this evening. What was she to do now?! Attempt the same stealth for a _second_ night in a row, which would be all but impossible, or chew through her fingernails while she waited for the Princes to _eventually_ rear their hea-

The distant approach of footsteps was faint, but it was without a doubt just that – an approach. It caught Judy with her guard down, and she reeled back from the doorway she'd foolishly kept wide open, the fur along the back of her neck bristling and her head tucked against her shoulders.

If she moved so much as an inch to her left she'd betray her presence to whomever was drawing closer; and judging by the volume of steps it was definitely more than a single mammal.

 _Great turnips!_ Judy frantically cursed, her mind falling into a wild panic as she scoured the room for a place to conceal herself. On this side of the door, though, there were only a few scattered chairs and a high red couch, all of which were too conspicuous to hide behind and too tall to cower under. She nearly forced herself over to the other side of the entryway, where a large chest had been invitingly kept with its lid unlatched, but her feet fell dead in their tracks only hairs from the door when a loud _cough_ echoed from _very_ close by.

Judy could feel the desperation of the moment clawing at her pelt, and with all reservations thrown out the window she forced herself towards the suite's balcony doors. With the haste of a hunted criminal she leapt over the marble railing, her pupils shrinking to peppercorns as she swayed in midair, her teal dress flapping in the bitter wind with only her paws keeping her from plummeting the hundreds of feet to the swift river far below.

No more than a few seconds after her leap of faith the footsteps stopped dead in their tracks, and Judy cautiously pulled her eyes up to the balcony's floor while her arms trembled under her own weigh.

To her dismay it wasn't two disgruntled rabbits that stood brooding in the suite's darkened light, but a pair of steel-clad foxes.

"You're hearing things, Grun," One of them mumbled, his accent so thick Judy could hardly comprehend him, and whatever his colleague sharply grumbled back was lost in translation. Growing more confident, she perked a single ear and tilted it in the direction of the foxes, who had begun to absentmindedly wander around the room's red couch with their swords thankfully sheathed.

"Must've been the wind," The other soldier admitted, landing a bored kick against the stone floor. "Don't want to stick around here too long, not unless I'd like to lose my paws to a charge of treason."

"Let's hope King Hopps knows his sons as well as I know cards," The first joked, rubbing his paws together uncomfortably as he made a move towards the balcony's open doors.

Judy ducked back under the railing as the two foxes came into the fresh air, her arms aching and breath bated as one of their muzzles peered over the balcony's edge only a few feet above her. His nose sniffed the air relentlessly, and as his lips drew back in a snarl Judy felt her body stiffen like ice.

"Nothing exciting ever happens nowadays," He growled, his overhanging paws clenched into fists, and Judy breathed a silent sigh of relief at his outburst. "Remember the war? So many victories, so much honor! Now all we partake in is patrols and training…"

"Better this than wasting away in some hamlet, I say," The other chuckled rather sarcastically. "At least have thanks that we aren't the poor souls who have to escort the most _valiant_ Princes to their inn at this hour."

"Amen," The first fox snorted in agreement, and a comfortable quiet followed his voice.

 _So Gregory and Lucas shall sleep in the Burrow tonight?_ Judy reflectively surmised, enthusiasm beginning to rouse her senses while her foot eagerly thumped at the air. _And by the sounds of events, they've only just departed! If I'm quick enough I may be able to catch them on their journey, and from then it is only a matter of time before they cast down their guard and spill their plans._

How fortune had smiled upon her this evening! Yet dangling here, pushed about by the constant breeze, the opportunity was as distant as a shimmering star.

Judy glanced about for a way to slip past the idle duo standing above her, gritting her teeth as she perilously stared down at the cliffs far below, yet there wasn't any path she could see that wouldn't either see her caught red-pawed or smashed red-skulled. That was, until she looked off towards the Palace's defenses.

With her jaw clenched tighter than burning coals Judy slowly shifted her grip on the balcony's floor, carefully sliding her paws along the smooth marble edge with her attention set on the Palace proper's sheer walls. A frightened grunt slipped from her jaw when her right paw slipped, leaving her thrashing about in the air for a breathless moment before she regained her grip on the slippery surface, but the fox above her only flicked a dismissive ear at her outburst.

Her forearms were screaming for rest by the time she had propped her legs around the balcony's underside supports, and as she regained her strength her paws clamored against the slim gaps left between the enormous stone slabs making up the Palace's outer wall hardly deep enough for her fingertips to squeeze into.

Judy could feel her petrified heart pounding against her ribs as her eyes gaped down at the river that'd catch – or rather _end_ – her fall should her fingers fail her. She could only remain terrified for so long, though, and with a resolute, calming breath she shifted her weight from her legs curled around the balcony's stone supports and entirely onto the ends of her fingers. She bit her tongue to silence a sharp outcry at the awful feeling.

The Palace's defensive wall, linked to the corner of the Palace proper, was no more than a few dozen feet away from the balcony's reach, although with how tedious and leaden the going was it felt more like miles. Judy bared a painful snarl as her fingertips burned under the weight of her hanging body, her claws scraping along the gap between the slabs with ever-more erratic grabs.

 _You're nearly there, Judith! Push!_ She vehemently encouraged, clenching her eyes shut as her wrists began to tremble. Given the distant murmur of words the two guards had begun another exchange, and she spared a look over at their dim silhouettes with a faint hope rising in her chest. Maybe they were too involved in their conversation to notice her struggle.

Yet the hope perished mere moments later when the moon's ghostly glow peeked through a part in the blanket of clouds. It swept towards the Palace from the land beyond the hills on the river's opposite bank like a tidal wave of white. If it so much as brushed her, her teal dress and shining metals would shimmer like torches in the darkest of caverns.

She _had_ to see herself off the exposed slab she clung to before they could do so.

A frantic panic flooded Judy's senses as her paws sped along the Palace's sheer wall in what she could only call a mad dash. She hadn't the time to turn back – not now! The only way was forward, towards the parapets of the Palace's defensive walls where she could hide herself 'til darkness returned!

Still, despite her hastened pace, when the sea of light engulfed the Palace she was still groping along its wall, and her heart sank to her feet when she saw the distance standing between her and cover.

In the moments before the two keen-eyed foxes inevitably caught sight of her, Judy swallowed all her fear of being caught and threw herself towards the Palace parapets. Blood was roaring in her ears, and for a terrifying moment she believed she'd made the wrong choice as the cliffs below hurdled towards her, but her right paw managed to catch a firm grip on the very edge of the fortification and with a massive heave she was hidden behind it.

The first breath she took back on solid ground was one of the – or dare she say, _the_ – best she'd ever experienced, and for a few long seconds she leaned in the shadow of the parapet as her straining breaths eased and her racing heart slowed to a crawl.

When she had mustered enough strength to orientate her ears towards the balcony she'd escaped from she hearkened to hear the distant murmur, her heart momentarily forgetting to beat.

"Patrols… hate… _Captain_ …death of us…"

'Thankful' hardly began to cover the gratitude Judy was experiencing. She'd managed to slip from under two of the keenest noses the world had ever manifested without either of them ever realizing she was there. Truly, if she'd the courage Nicholas would be the first to hear of her exploit.

"And at what cost?" She quietly murmured, glancing down at her stark red fingertips, yet she shook the numb sensation away and rose to a steady stand while the world descended once more into darkness. With as much effort as a snap of her fingers, the moon's glow was imprisoned behind impregnable clouds again.

And so she was once more on the move. This time, however, she ran on familiar ground, avoiding the familiar schedule of midnight patrols, and within minutes she was kneeling on the tile roof of the Palace's Western Gatehouse.

She kept her mouth clamped shut as she leaned over the edge, acutely aware that there was a watchful fox a mere foot below her while her eyes scanned the Burrow's streets sprawling into the distance for the glow of torches. It didn't take her long to locate orange specs against the canvas of black.

 _That's them. It must be._ She decidedly declared, slowly tracing the flickering lights as they sparkled across the wide square at the foot of the Palace's defensive hill and turned into the windy streets. Judy tensed her muscles as she prepared to follow, huffing in amusement as she peered over the roof's edge. Compared to the cliffs, the drop onto the grassy slope below was little more than a fall out of bed.

When the guard lurking below opened his grey muzzle in a distracting yawn, Judy seized her chance to escape and dropped past his face, feeling the vague brush of his whiskers against her calf. She landed on the soft, damp ground soundlessly and hastened towards the wall of dark structures at the foot of the hill, not daring to cast so much as a hair behind her until she reached the shadowed haven.

Her breaths were quick and shallow, much like the small pools of muddy water she pounded across as she tracked the patrol she'd spotted from the walls through the tight, winding streets. Just as she predicted, there was a hint of rabbit mingled with the scents of a vulpine escort. The noxiously familiar smell only furthered her strides and hastened her already hurried pace.

A few turns more led her onto the Burrow's main westward road, entirely dark and absolutely deserted; with the singular exception of her quarry. Judy kept her movements silent and cautious as she followed the slow-moving escort, sticking to the shadows of doorways and alleys as she peered at the stoic faces of the soldiers and the glow of the torches they wielded.

She could only catch passing glimpses of her brothers, yet it was more than ample to see her face become ashen and force her paws into fists. They were just as deceitful as she could recount.

 _Haven't they the strength to raise their spirits from the dirt?_ She pushed, voice biting with wroth, darting around the wheel of a lifeless cart and staring through their guards at their dim, earthbound expressions, yet a low growl shook her chest when a voice answered back. _Of course they haven't. Not until they've stolen themselves away from earshot of any sane mammal who would stand against their tyrannical plotting!_

Judy traced their footsteps down the dead road from afar, deeming it unsafe to try and penetrate the barrier of torches surrounding the Princes with so many watchful eyes present. Not that she'd hear anything incriminating from their spiked tongues, anyway.

That part came when they turned down a tighter side street. A pair of foxes broke off from the guards escorting them to watch the unmarked entryway, and Judy had to dart up an uneven brick wall and hop from windowsill to windowsill just to peer down the cramped alley, all the while listening to the attentive sniffs of the foxes below.

A pawful of guards guided the Princes into the interior of an unassuming stone building that, were it not for the candlelight spilling from every window, she would've hardly recognized as an inn. Her straightened ears caught the sounds of them moving about inside for an instant before the inn's door slammed shut and the remainder of the escort filed back into the main street, taking the two foxes below her with them.

Once they'd disappeared back into the impenetrable night Judy inched around the corner again, her senses carefully surveying the unguarded doorway.

 _Walking in unannounced would be the suicide of secrecy._ She pensively ventured, her brow furrowed and her mind hard at work devising a way to slip into the structure, yet her eyes shot up to the building's third-story window when a grey paw pushed it open amid the murmur of voices. Her jaw instinctively tightened at the development, and with an instantaneous skyward glance she resolved to scale the building she clung to.

 _I'm gradually becoming a squirrel._ Judy unenthusiastically huffed as she pulled herself onto the structure's thatched roof, her body pressed flat against the uncomfortable material as she crawled to its edge and stared down into the inn.

The room's gold glow illuminated the half of her face she dared to raise above the roof's stagnant gutter. It was impossible to see anything beyond its immediate view; it certainly didn't help the inn was a fair story below her, too. For the time being, she was forced to stare at a flimsy wooden chair and an empty floor that occasionally betrayed a rabbit's shadow.

Reluctantly Judy leaned over the roof's edge, her paws clutching its gutter while her ears stood and tilted towards the thin opening in the window. Her view of the inside was just as narrow as it was before-

Wait. _There._ In the corner of what little she could see, against the green sheets of what she could only surmise was a bed, the leg of some rabbit was bobbing apprehensively. The red-dyed trousers instantly gave away the limb's owner.

 _Gregory._

Judy felt her face tense as her focus shifted to the room's murmur, her stiff ears straining to hear the hushed voices above the distant rush of the river.

"…impoverished. I suppose this room will do, for our short time, so long as our wardens respect our privacy."

"Ha. I suppose they will, won't they? These foxes have a knack for _staying inside their borders_ , don't they?"

The first voice was that of Lucas, but the second she couldn't place a face to. Its squeaky pitch and blatantly resentful tone struck her nerves like a branch against a metal fence.

"Hush up, Harrot." The sharp snap came from a different, deeper source. "Lord knows you're too young to know when to hold your tongue."

"Your scowling is getting us nowhere." A mild voice interjected, and a shadow moved across the floor, stopping just before Gregory's leg. "Prince, what are we to do?"

"What are we to do?" Gregory darkly repeated, standing from his seat and strolling into view with his arms behind his back and his hard eyes staring into the alleyway's darkness.

Judy flinched back from the roof's rafter, fully aware that a slight glance up would be enough to see her through, yet she refused to so much as tilt her ears a hair behind her. No, she raised them even higher. _This_ is what she had fought her way to hear, and she wouldn't let some trivial panic get the better of her.

Her chest was sour with angst and ire alike as she hearkened to hear Prince Gregory's reply, her blood as weighted as ingots of iron, yet her world was turned on its side when all he responded with was a fall of his brow and a slight sigh.

"Nothing," Was the extent of his disgraced answer.

"What?"

For an instant Judy thought it was her tongue that slipped, and she darted down with an anvil crushing her spine and her fur broiling with horror. But Prince Gregory's eyes swept over his shoulder, silently addressing some rabbit deeper in the room, and she breathed a curt breath as her bristling ears shot up again.

 _I am not so gullible to your deceiving facade._ She defiantly growled, a throbbing fire still rending her ribs despite the cold press of doubt in the pit of her stomach. _You think your sweet lies will fool me, Gregory?_

"Your ears did not deceive you, Lord Harrot." Gregory sneered, the white of his teeth penetrating through his grey muzzle. "Nothing. Naught. _Null_."

"Gregory." The voice was Lucas's, as was the supportive grip on Gregory's shoulder. "I… you-"

"Have we not learned from our exile?" A low rumble shook Gregory as he shrugged off the paw, his eyes brimming like embers. "Every item we once possessed has been commandeered by the King. A reflective trip to the northern wastes was a sentence _none_ of us deserved for the attempted _murder_ of a prince."

"A fox." The deep voice corrected direly.

"The future _mate_ of Princess Hopps." Gregory snapped back, storming over to stare out onto the alley once more, and though the disgust in his tone was undeniable it was accompanied by a twinge of anguish. "And my future brother-in-law."

"Though I can hardly tolerate his sight, Wilde and his kind are here until their pelts are entombed in marble." Prince Gregory yielded soberly, all the fight in his body disintegrating with his weary eyes and limp ears. "And I, for one, would prefer to rest rather than struggle against the inevitable."

A sour guilt had left Judy rooted to the spot, unable to move so much as a hair on her pelt from the silence that followed the Prince's surrender, but the unflinching sincerity of his amber gaze forced her to gulp down the awful taste and scurry along the roof. She climbed down to the darkness of the main road without a sound, and for what seemed like an age strode down it with steps more weighted than lead.

 _He's… honest._

Those two words were more difficult to utter than the most dishonest of wedding vows, and Judy could hardly fathom why.

 _Because your assumptions have panned out to gravel!_ She hissed at herself, leaning against a stone column and banging the back of her head against it with a vexed snarl. _You had a lead when it came to Certus, at least! Here you've_ nothing; _that is, except for an inn of regretful rabbits!_ What _are you to do now, hmm? Go back to distrusting the Princes at every fair-intentioned turn they take? Or maybe you'd care to plot against them, silence their voices before they commit some_ 'treasonous' _act?_

In that instant Judy only found the will to hold her head in defeat, her body swamped by a thousand unceasing pikes of shame and guilt.

"What would Nicholas think of me…" She weakly asked, turning her distant vision up to the endless, black sky while her ears listened to the incessant flow of the midnight breeze.

"Ask."

The sole, hard word sent a jolt of fear shooting up her spine that made her pelt stand on end, and Judy whirled towards the voice that'd echoed from further down the dim road. Her paw fell to her rapier's handle and her legs tensed, every ounce of sense inside her preparing for a skirmish.

Yet all her strength disappeared when she made out the familiar silhouette of a fox slouched against a nearby storefront, and her heart stopped dead when she saw the crown of lavender clutched in his paws.

Never had Nick been so infuriated. Not when Certus had savagely thrown himself at the Princess, not in the aftermath of the calamity at Briarbend, not _even_ in those burning days after he'd been abandoned in the Camhara's sandy dunes. No, he could forgive poor decisions and punish betrayal to his heart's content, but _reckless, witless stunts_ were something that made his stomach writhe - more so now than ever.

Deep within, lurking in a remote crevice in his mind, Nick not only suspected but _knew_ that the Princess would commit a rash act. Take the burden of a judge into her own paws, exact her own justice on the Princes the way she saw fit. Her scathing tirade earlier in the evening solely funneled towards him showed the true colors behind her piercing amethyst gaze clear as day, although he didn't wish to believe what he'd glimpsed.

He could hardly move his eyes from the lavender crown his paws clutched feebly; each fiber of his spirit was dragged down by ballasts of horror at its sight, too heavy for him to attempt anything else. If he hadn't spared a peek into her bedroom mere minutes ago, hadn't tracked her lavender-infused scent across walls and through alleyways to this dim, remote patch of the Burrow, then this would be his final reminder of her. Around any corner, in every shadow, an assassin could be lying in wait, fiddling with his venoms, biding his time to _strike_.

"Well." He demanded solemnly, managing a gulp while the breathing inferno beneath his steel armor forced his eyes and ears towards the small silhouette further down the pitch-black street.

He needn't the moon's light to read the speechless look on his Judith's face. Her wide, purple eyes, brimming with a sea of life, coupled with the soft, ashy fur that seemed to call out to him, begging to be brushed, and her pink, unceasingly twitchy nose – all he loved without remorse or regret.

 _Love._ That single word made his fury all the greater.

"Well?" He repeated harshly, his snarling maw a virulent shade of white with his vision a deep shade of crimson, and he threw proper sense to the wind and stormed through the black towards the Princess's unmoving shape, his tail lashing behind him.

"I'd a duty to follow them, Nicholas," The Princess defended with a steadfast spark in her tone, her teal and silver form shooting at him from the shadows and meeting his bristling approach with a stiff posture and defensive glare. "I thought them once again be plotting to take your life. I did this for _your_ sake."

"Truly?" Nick halfheartedly chuckled, his tail snaking around his ankle, as constricting as a noose, while he unflinchingly folded his arms across his chest.

"Pray tell then, Judith," He half-snidely remarked, his eyebrow perked in a fit of dark humor. "How will the Princes off me? Poison? Drowning? Decapitation? I've yet to experience the last."

"They won't," The Princess almost spat back, seemingly enraged by his words, yet the fire only lasted until her bristling ears and heavy brow sunk like ballasts to a riverbed. "I listened to them and their cohorts speak without their knowing. They're of fair heart."

"But you _must_ excuse me, Nicholas!" She implored, turning her two wide, pleading amethysts to meet his gaze, yet Nick knew better than to fall for the sybil's charm. "I know this was hardly the most orthodox solution, but we needed to ensure my brothers wouldn't try their paws at anything foul so soon after their return. I only held the wish for an easy night's rest to my heart."

"Fascinating," Nick bluntly retorted, his fists falling to his sides while his ears plastered themselves to his skull, and he squinted down into the depths of his betrothed's stare with tempered criticism. "Albeit, what's even more so is that you'd _lie_ to me."

"What?!" Judith exclaimed, recoiling with a horrified backstep while her pupils shrunk to the size of a pepper's seed only to dart forward with even greater speed. "Nick, I-"

"Had you been acting in _my_ interests as you so _erroneously_ claim, the both of us would be smothered in slumber!" Nick hissed, unable to stem the tide of crimson rage for an instant longer, and as his words flooded the thick air the color consumed his senses, one by one. "You _couldn't_ let your father keep an eye on the Princes, have them kept in line by _his_ paws? Was it necessary for you to brave this maze of dank alleys to fulfill your personal _desire_ for vindication when we are stalked by a cold-blooded killer?"

Judith remained quiet for a long, tense moment after his final words, her expression raw and the tint in her gaze reflecting some concoction of hurt and fear. Nick straightened his posture at the ill sight, clearing his throat and flattening the bristling fur along the back of his neck with a quick brush, entirely aware of how… intimidating he may have appeared. He nearly convinced himself to cough up an apology but cut the idea free when it suddenly struck him that it was not _fear of him_ that shone through his betrothed's gaping amethysts, but _fear of realization_.

"Nicholas, _please_ ," The Princess quietly begged, placing a cool, comforting paw against the side of his muzzle. "I never meant to… don't be mad."

"I'm not," Nick pointedly snapped, shrugging off her touch and shoving her unraveling lavender crown into her chest before he turned his back to her to stare off down the darkened street. "Merely _disappointed_."

"Now come on."

The silence that followed his order was as piercing as a thorn pressed between ribs, but Nick forced himself to live with the feeling. It wasn't eased the slightest part by the spiritless steps trailing from behind his tail; yet those, too, he drowned out with his frustration.

 _Stubborn rabbit!_ He growled, managing a glance back at the Princess to see her following in his shadow, her expression as vital as a winter tulip and the flowered circlet all but broken in her clutch aside from a few, faint tendrils, its scent having long since perished in the wet air. A tiny snarl crept once again upon his face at the harsh reality of the street's pungent, chilling odor, and he threw his eyes forward, scanning for figures amid the shadowy structures.

 _This place reeks of crime._ He warily remarked, his paws clenching into fists as his attention shifted skyward, his squinted eyes and nose facing the nearby roofs of stone and thatch as the Marshal's report flocked to his mind. _Is this the district Fenus ordered extra patrols to? Abra? Not a dewdrop's chance at Surtr's feet that'll trek through such a pit for long, especially with_ her.

That last word he almost spat out like a bad taste.

The windy, silent alleyways were the answer to his prayer. They would lead right up to the foot of the Palace's embankments, where they could begin their disgraced parade before the guards.

"This way," He commanded, turning down a paved path that snaked between a pair of steep, stone buildings, yet when the Princess's footsteps abruptly stopped he glanced over his shoulder and stared at the unmoving silhouette facing him from the alley's entrance.

"Shouldn't we-" Judith uncertainly started. Nick cut her short with a hasty lash of his tail. He could read the very protests from her tone like words from a page.

"We don't have the time for banter," Nick bluntly scolded, eyeing his betrothed critically while his paws fell and clasped behind his waist, claws digging into his palms. "I trust these roads as much as I do your sense of judgement. We'll take a more direct path back to the walls."

Judith made no more sound to stand against him, and Nick sent her a curt nod as he stalked off down the blackened alley with her trudging just alongside. They plowed on through the night in utter silence.

 _All of this is her doing._ A rash voice cried, and he forced his claws further into his skin at the thought. _When she's hunted by assassins she decides to act like a headstrong hero. Truly a_ genius _mammal, isn't she?_ _Do you believe that she had even_ considered _the consequences in the slightest?_

 _Not even with my tail._ He distrustfully answered, his spirit as dim as the passing buildings, yet a subtle, sideways glance at his betrothed made the foundations of his frustration quiver.

The disheartened tint in her expression had taken a dismal, guilt-trodden turn that made his soul writhe. The lavender tiara he'd crafted for her mere hours earlier was little more than a few intertwined, scentless stalks, yet she still clutched it in both paws as feverishly as a drowning sailor clings to the mast of a flailing ship.

 _That stupid rabbit needs a harsh reprimand to for this stunt of hers._ He halfheartedly grumbled to himself, and his ears and eyes sunk towards the muddy ground while his fury simmered into a festering regret. _But_ _it_ is _that rabbit to whom our species owes this peace. To whom_ I _owe so much. She's a dumb bunny, doubtlessly, but an honest one at that. All of this trouble came about because she was fretful over my safety…_

Nick hardly knew how to respond to that, save for with a confused, guilty sigh. Was he acting too harsh to Judith? After all, when the sun would rise in mere hours' time only he would know of what had transpired here. There wouldn't even be a _hint_ of a _trace_ of either of their scents; he had her quick thinking and the dank air to thank for that.

With a sharp shake of his skull Nick recollected his thoughts, letting a fiery feeling bubble to the surface of his pelt; so consumed by conflict, he didn't pay a whisker of attention to which alleys his feet absentmindedly guided him down.

 _Is it I who will be recorded as the villain in history's pages for how I've treated this?_ Nick uncertainly reiterated, doubting his vexation in every sense of the word, yet his idle stare down at the mud-streaked pavement became engulfed by ire almost immediately.

Who was he to answer that? The paths to hell's gates were paved with the intentions of the fair; he knew all too well. Regardless of whatever _good_ his betrothed had hoped to do, the assassin hunting them cast a shadow that plunged that faith into darkness. How _could_ she so foolishly wander through these midnight streets when at any instant a poisonous arbalest's bolt or the sudden stab of a blade could come flying from the black, snuffing out her life without him even aware she had gon-

" _Nicholas!_ "

Nick very nearly jumped out of his pelt at the demanding exclamation. Without an instant's delay he whirled back towards the direction the voice had come to find himself in an unwavering stare with the Princess, who stood unflinchingly with her ears tautly raised and an anxious tint in her frowning amethysts.

"You're leading us _away_ from the Palace," Judith sullenly noted, extending an accusatory paw at a gigantic silhouette that rendered faintly in the far distance.

"What?" Nick stammered in a panic, flying past his betrothed to gawk at the familiar outline while his blood ran as cold as arctic ice. "That can't be. I…"

"…was _poetically_ _groveling_ because I did us both a favor?" The Princess finished for him, her tone as biting as a gale that'd blow alongside his blood, and with a silent growl he confronted her disgruntled glare with a warning snarl.

"Come on," He snapped meanly, jerking his head with his fur still bristling in unease as he began to purposefully trudge back down the empty alley. "We'll just head back the way we came."

That was easier said than done. After backtracking through a parade of familiar, brick-faced buildings, their scent trail ran dry at – what better a place – a three-way fork in the tight passageway. Each dingy alley looked vaguely familiar, completely traceless of their past passing, although it was the one furthest left that appeared the least fortuitous. Nick's sight pierced further down its misty depths than the others, and there, at its end, he almost saw the moonlit makings of a proper street.

"I vaguely recall the shadows of this alley," Princess Hopps noted uncertainly her muddled eyes prying the passage furthest right, although her tone hardened as she nodded towards the leftmost one. "But I am positive that's not the way we came."

"Yet it is the safest from attack. Come on," Was all Nick bothered to reply, striding towards the low arch that marked the alley's entrance with added haste, yet he shot his ears high and halted dead in his steps to meet his betrothed's unmoving scowl when she scoffed back.

"I am not a _kit_ needing to be coddled," She indignantly stomped, trudging up to stand a whisker's width from the end of his snout while fresh brimstones visibly ruffled her hackles.

Nick snorted doubtfully at the Princess's _surefooted_ guarantee, managing a quick roll of his eyes while the now seething rabbit before him opened her maw.

"Really?" He coldly snickered before she could fume, his ears folding stiffly behind his skull while his tail began to bristle in hostility, and he pointed a deadly serious claw to Judith's clenched jaw. "Every step you've taken tonight has proved otherwise. You've so _devoted_ yourself to this misguided persecution of yours you-"

" _I_ am the one who's misguided?" Judith snapped in amazement, motioning to herself with a fist, and her expression took an infuriated turn while frustration baked her purple eyes red. "You're so invested in catching this assassin, you hardly sleep an hour each night! How _dare_ you criticize me for one occasion when I took _your_ safety into my paws, when you oversee _every_ additional security made to protect us? You've grown distant and restless thanks to your fruitless crusade on the very eve of our wedding!"

"You've the _gall_ to-" Nick furiously snarled, toes digging into the muddy ground and his flexed paws trembling with rage, yet his betrothed's fingers flew over his muzzle and squeezed it shut before he could speak any further. He nearly struck them off, growling as his gaze darted back to the Princess's face, yet confusion doused his fire with vapor when he saw her bristling ears and stiffened gaze had been dragged back down the rightmost alley.

"Someone approaches," She silently whispered – although her voice was more like a hiss – and Nick pushed past her with little resistance and held his ears as high as his head would allow. For a long moment all that echoed in his ears was the rapid thumping of his heart and the distant, shrill cries of wind, but from the nigh-impenetrable darkness rang the low tap of approaching feet, and the sound that followed them pierced his sanity.

 _Sccchhhhink!_

The rasp of a blade being drawn.

Nick needn't do more than look down into his betrothed's equally frantic eyes, all the adrenaline brought on by their war of words flooding his legs and plunging his mind into a frenetic desire to run.

"The wrong alley it is," The Princess hurriedly conceded, and Nick sent her a curt nod before they rushed off down the passageway, neither of them paying much of any mind to keeping themselves hidden.

The dim world flew past at a staggering speed. Nick's feet carried him across the slick tiles and muddy dirt that shaped the alley without them even having a chance to skid or slip. His eyes were locked with the moonlit road at the its end, and his sprint persevered until he and the Princess, who in her mud-stained teal gown had taken a far lead, stormed out into the wide space.

The first move he made now that he wasn't half-crushed was to pull his rapier from its sheath and spin on his feet towards the way they'd just come. His eyes now no more than slits pierced through the shroud of black cast over the alley, his hot blood broiling into the anxious snarl on his jaw, but in the fading ghostly light his sight began to fail him; the same was hardly true of his stiffened ears and the ever-louder footsteps that echoed into them.

"This way!" Nick aggressively yelled at Princess Hopps as he sprinted off down the mud-soaked road. Not so much as a whisper, let alone a footstep, answered in reply.

Alarmed, he cast a glance over his shoulder and found to his utter horror his betrothed waiting motionless in front of the alley from which the assassin's footsteps echoed with her ears high and her own rapier firmly clutched in her paw.

 _Fucking rabbit!_ He snarled, seething, and he forced his momentum to a stop in mere instants and threw himself back towards her, his steel armor creaking under the sudden moves.

"Listen!" Judith hissed at him, delivering him a snarl tenfold more vicious than his own, and with a confused frown he stopped dead in his tracks. His tail fell even lower while he listened to the approaching footsteps; no longer were they just coming from that one alley. He could hear their approach from others, too, and from further down the road. The assassin was not as alone as he'd thought.

"We've been driven into a trap," He grumbled direly, a thousand horrible, blackened thoughts flooding his skull all at once, yet they were driven off in a single instant by a serious sense of calm. Those youthful years of his spent in the Camhara flew through his mind like a Furgundian **[1]** tapestry. All the back alley fistfights he'd started – and lost – while Lepidus sat and chuckled at his bruises left a stinging reminder too painful to ignore.

With the feeling in mind Nick backed away from the road's edge and into its crooked center, holding his rapier low and his tail even lower while he waited, with his left foot forward in a defensive stance, for the inevitable battle that was running ever closer.

"You'll be getting the fight you wanted, after all," He quipped half-ominously, flicking the tip of his tail at the Princess's ankle as she came up behind him, and Nick watched with restless heartbeats as a pair of shadows – each holding an instrument of steel – turned towards them from the night beyond the road's corner.

"If we retreat any more we'll see ourselves separated, and I'd rather _not_ have to deal with the stink of a dead fox tonight," Judith shot back, her ears folding and her rapier raising at yet more shades emerging from the nearby alleyways. Nick somehow managed a faint grin at her passionate rebuke. _That rabbit…_

The assassin had brought more accomplices than Nick had claws. The exact number of adversaries he couldn't quite count – ten, twelve, twenty – but it was more than enough for his paw to curl around the hilt of his rapier with the force to turn coal into diamonds.

Soon enough the menacing figures formed a rough circle around the Princess and him, but not one dared to begin the assault against them. An eerie silence took hold in its stead, accompanied by such a freezing breeze that Nick amply felt every shiver of his bones and the unceasing clamp of his jaw. To him a lifetime passed before one of the larger figures finally shattered the illusion of stillness, but it couldn't have been more than a few breaths.

"Not too oft do we find ourselves in the presence of royalty!"

The figure's voice was deep and harsh, brimming with all the greed and virulence one would expect from a denizen of the underworld, yet what was most intriguing was that he spoke not in the common tongue, but in that of rabbits.

 _Rabbits?_ Nick exclaimed in bewilderment, realizing in a harsh glance that the brigands around them lacked the haughty tails and pointed ears of his kind; no doubt, had the air not been filled with mist and night, he would've been able to tell from the start. Judging by the stiff nod he caught Judith sending him from the corner of his gaze, the realization had struck her too.

"There is no need for us to fight!" She called, half-warily and half-pleadingly, to the thugs' leader, but the rabbit only seemed to seethe at her reply.

"Months I've seen myself wander these damn'd streets!" The looming figure spat, raising what looked to be a long, curved dirk accusingly. "But now fate has seen you thrown into my 'ath once again! You stole a part of me, and I'm not leaving until I get it back!"

Nick tensed his paws as the bandit started a slow approach, and slowly the circle of his associates, too, began to close in around the two of them, shutting off any hope of escaping without bloodshed.

"You don' think…" Nick started half-focused, recalling the brigand's threat and catching a sharp glint off his noticeably pawless wrist in the moonlight while he folded his orange ears and lowered his rigid body.

"These are the thugs hired by Lord Caer to kill me?" Judith finished for him, making a noise akin to a bemused sniff as her foot shifted closer and as her spine pressed up against his segmented steel plate. "Probably."

"Just be prepared to move," He ordered firmly, meeting the half-dozen approaching pairs of fiery eyes with an arctic resilience, and he felt the Princess nod.

The bandits' daggers were very nearly in striking distance…

"Right," Was all Judith replied.

All the hours they'd spent on their sojourn by the lake, perfecting their cooperative style of combat, now seemed like time spent exceedingly well.

Judith made the first move against their attackers, before any one of them could even think of striking out, and Nick was at her heels while she landed a flurry of blows against three of the unprepared, unarmored rabbits.

Two of them went reeling backwards with deep, bloody blows in their shoulders, while the third routed entirely, dropping his dagger and screeching in pain as he sprinted off down the street with a visible trail of blood dripping from his face.

The retaliatory barrage began almost immediately. Nick lowered to a crouch and slashed out at the incoming daggers while the Princess ducked into his chestplate, pressing herself against his armored form with his tail around her cuirass while he parried the strikes meant for her. His huge size and weightier steel meant that whatever stabs managed to break through his rabid defense did little aside from bounce off.

The brigand's attack was loose and disorganized, with only a few coming forth with their daggers drawn at a time. Nick managed to land a few slashes across one of the attacker's chests before he withdrew, growling and clutching his wound, and sent a different one shooting back into the muddy road with a powerful slam of his shoulder.

"Are you fools blind?!" An irate voice roared, and Nick squinted at the bandits while he tried to track the source of the voice. In the misty darkness he was no more than a shadowy shape, just like his attackers.

 _So play it to your advantage!_ He told himself furiously, and with a stiff grunt he parried the next bandit's thrust and pulled him into the center of the fray. Before the rabbit knew what'd happened Nick had darted out of striking distance with his betrothed still hovering underneath him.

Not more than a second passed before the bandits renewed their assault against what they assumed to be the two of them, only to abruptly end after the shadow of a dirk pierced the dumbfounded rabbit's side and a shrill cry cut through the air.

"Now!" He growled at Judith while the brigands were distracted, and the light-armored doe shot from his underside and charged towards the group. Nick kept right behind her as she dove into the mass of fur and steel with an embattled expression, yet a sense of wonder slowed his movements as he watched her viciously slash and stab at a pair of attackers and rake her rapier across the face of another before kicking him face-first into an earth-colored puddle.

 _Talk about itching for a fight._ He remarked, an amused huff slipping past his lips before he drove himself into the chaotic fray.

Nick was in the midst of the action, fending off attacks from all sides while his betrothed leapt from bandit to bandit, leaving each with a fresh incision or slash. It didn't take long before his ironclad chest was heaving from all the dodging and parrying, but his racing heart somehow skipped an aching beat when one of the shadowy bandits sent his betrothed stumbling backwards with a cut along her shoulder.

With a ferocious growl Nick threw caution to the wind and landed a deep, pointed strike against the already-bleeding rabbit's chest that sent him groaning to the ground, and in a maelstrom of thrashing blades and lashing tails he gouged and clawed at the remaining bandits that weren't busy trying to pin down his betrothed.

As a single living, breathing being the two of them danced a storm of violence, weaving in and out around the other while striking out with flying stabs and sweeping strikes. It was a crimson harmony of battered steel and slashed fur; the numbers of the situation meant absolutely naught. None of the bandits presented much of a challenge, and the only harm that came to Nick was a slash against his knee that he quickly repaid in kind to the side of the dealer's head.

Yet as their rapiers flew and tore, the brigands could only cope so well against their well-coordinated assaults. Nick managed a grin between fast breaths while his gaze swept over the scant, bloodied attackers that still formed a loose circle surrounding them. The weary, fearful look in their wide-eyed stares betrayed just how close they were to shattering.

"Enough fun for you?" He coyly quipped, tilting an ear towards the Princess, who stood back-to-back with him while her chest heaved for air and her resilient amethysts scoured their opponents.

Her reply was a shallow nod and a tensing of her dripping rapier.

"Then let's end this," Nick uttered seriously, his paw clenching 'round his rapier's handle even tighter, and once his betrothed had concurred with another, stiffer nod, the two of them shot apart with their blades pulled back.

A primeval growl shook Nick's chest as he broke the will of a thin rabbit, whose fur was streaked more red that white, with a well-placed stab, and immediately strafed away from the incoming daggers of two other brigands. He hissed at them, displaying his marble-white fangs in a frightening snarl, and they halted dead in their tracks only for Nick to have his rapier knocked from his grip from a blow from behind an instant later.

He hadn't noticed the dark, brooding shape of another bandit slip so close to him thanks to the other's distraction. The glint of his dirk pierced through the darkness towards the glaring gap in his chest-plate's underarm, and Nick darted awkwardly away from the strike the instant before it collided with his fur, backpedaling away from the blade in a low crouch and watching wide-eyed and flat-eared as the two other thugs drew closer.

Nick searched frenetically through the muddy road for the steely shimmer of his rapier, but it was fruitless in the utterly black air, and the bandits were nearly atop him. Yet the cold fear of being surrounded and unarmed could only hold him back for so long; once his attackers tensed their daggers for a final assault a resolved growl broke his hesitation and he charged the three of them, claws flexed.

A hard slam of his elbow into one of the bandit's faces left the rabbit screaming and clutching his broken jaw with both paws, and Nick had just the time to swerve under one of the other brigands' blades and bring his balance out from under him before raking his claws across the face of the third, sending him howling onto the mud-soaked road.

He was so absorbed by the struggle - the only sound echoing in his eardrums that of roaring blood - that his betrothed's plea reached him just a moment late.

" _Nicholas_!"

It was like hearing a cry from the opposite side of a ravine; somehow distant, yet seemingly very, _very_ near. It was the hideous tone of the scream, though, that ushered a tide of urgency to shoot through his chest like the bolts of an arbalest.

Without so much as a breath's delay Nick whirled towards the sound of the Princess's cry, ignoring the littered howls and groans of the bandits already defeated, and his heart skipped a score beats at the sight that greeted him across the embattled road.

Judith had seen all the bandits that had approached her left with deep wounds, and around her lay their moaning, injured forms. All except one; the same, black-hearted rabbit who'd first levied the vengeful promises at the battle's beginning. A deep slash running from one side of his face to the other turned his brown fur into an ugly black, but it was his long, crooked dirk, pressed against the fur of her throat, that was truly sickening.

Nick watched in stunned horror as Judith struggled in the thug's grip, clawing at his arm while trying in vain to kick him away. Her furious, desperate expression was just that – desperate. Nick snarled viciously at the brigand and took a menacing step towards them, his body fueled by rage while simultaneously trembling with fear.

But the bloodied rabbit replied with a vile hiss and dug his edge deeper against the Princess's throat, drawing a sharp cry of pain from her and putting an abrupt end to her frantic struggles. Nick audibly heard his heart fall to the muddy ground as her panicked, pleading gaze met his, and he stopped dead in his tracks, his will to fight suddenly evaporated.

"I tol' you!" The thug venomously shouted, accusingly pointing his pawless wrist at Nick while sliding the point of his dagger to the underside of the Princess's chin. "You took my paw from me! _Stol'_ it like the backstabbin' _fox_ you are. How's this for revenge, ay, _Prince?!_ "

Nick could only stare on, helpless, while the brigand tensed his dirk against his betrothed's windpipe. A heavy, wretched guilt settled in his stomach as he watched her struggle feebly.

Yet her eyes were still moving wildly, making sharp, sudden movements towards her paw, and the instant Nick caught on his will to fight suddenly crashed back into him.

Inside her clutch were a few intertwined stalks of green and purple. Yet even here, with the air so thick with the smell of blood and water, there still came a faint scent of lavender.

 _The crown!_ Nick silently screamed, suddenly feeling the cool touch of his own iron circlet that'd he'd since grown numb to. He ground his teeth and bit his tongue until he tasted the salty tang of blood, knowing what Judith wanted him to do.

"Wait!" He pleaded panickedly, throwing himself forward and landing in the mud with a wet _thud_. His voice sliced right through the mist in the night air. The thug stopped the moment before he could drag his dirk's blade over the Princess's throat, turning his soulless gaze down to the Prince with a wary frown and spiteful snarl.

"Spare her life," Nick begged weakly, holding both his paws together and struggling onto his knees with as much desperation as he could force into his voice. "I took your paw; it's only fair you take mine. Just don't hurt her. _Please._ "

The brigand fell silent for a few moments, his eyes shrinking to a squint, and Nick shared a quick, invisible nod with the Princess before an almost evil grin pulled up their attacker's cheeks.

"Huh," He cackled noxiously, letting his blade fall from Judith's throat, and the two of them slowly moved forward with his arm still locked around her. "I lov' a little ol' irony. _But_ , try anything and I'll gut the both of you."

"No tricks," Nick promised with a tiny shake of his head, and he nervously held out both his paws in an enticingly vulnerable manner and looked away with a ludicrously frightened grimace. "Just make it quick."

The thug snorted dryly and held his dirk above Nick's wrists while his heinous smile grew all the wider.

"This'll hurt," He spat.

Nick heard every beat of his heart echo through his ears when the dagger finally descended, yet the instant before it pierced his skin he shot away, tearing his iron crown off the top of his head and throwing it into Judith's outstretched paws, just as she'd wanted.

The bandit managed half a growl before the Princess struck him across his head with the makeshift weapon, beating him down onto his knees until she had wrest herself free of his grip. The brigand snarled, even more blood drenching his face as he thrust his dagger at her, but Nick swooped in and slammed him into the ground with a loud _crack!_ before the blade even came close.

The wounded rabbit howled in pain, holding his shattered elbow with a paw as he tried to stand, but Judith brought the crown into the side of his skull one last time with a fiery hiss and sent him spinning into a muddy puddle.

He twitched a few times before he lay utterly motionless, knocked out cold, and the one or two of his wounded accomplices who'd yet to struggle to their feet crawled away into the gloomy depths of the neighboring alleys. In the time it took for a moth to land on a pine nettle, the road was suddenly draped in a blanket of stillness.

Nick breathed a deep, drawn-out sigh of relief, resting his palms on his knees as he turned, with a concerned eye, to his betrothed, yet she'd already strode off to the other side of the street and was cleaning the blood from her rapier's blade with the end of her gown. The final toll of their fight was evident in her limp ears and slumped posture.

Nick nodded at nothing in particular and hurried back to where he'd so foolishly lost his own sword. After a moment of searching the muddy road he meandered back to the Princess's side while cleaning the scarlet spread across his weapon's hilt.

"You hurt?" He asked her while sheathing his rapier, and she shook her head as she held out his dented crown, her expression brimming with an unintelligible emotion. Nick smirked at the glimmer of flames still present in the corners of her eyes, and with a gentle rub of her shoulder that brought those two uncertain amethysts up to him he took the crown from her paw.

The _whiz_ of a crossbow bolt overhead interrupted Nick before he even knew what he was going to say and sent both the Princess's and his ears shooting straight up. The two of them spun simultaneously towards where the shot had come from, and Nick felt his heart lurch as he picked out the approaching shapes of steel-clad foxes from the bend in the street.

"Halt! In the name of Prince-Regent Wilde!" One of them shouted while another loaded his crossbow. For a split second Nick's feet were locked to the ground, unsure of what to do, but he hastily resolved to run. Grabbing the arm of his still-stunned Judith, he pulled the two of them down an alley. They raced off down the labyrinth of alleys, turning down every corner they could to try and throw off the guards pursuing them until, eventually, the sounds of footsteps behind them disappeared entirely.

They were both starved of breath by the time they'd scaled the Palace walls. Hardly the scent of any fox remained on the brick; dozens of flickering torchlights moving hastily through the maze of streets below betrayed where they'd ran off to.

Nick sat panting on the gap between two parapets with his right foot and tail dangling in the open, chilling breeze. Each and every one of his joints was aching just as much from their flight as the fight, and he hardly wanted to look at the slice on his mud-covered, blood-stained calf. He couldn't even muster the energy to raise his head off the slab of uncomfortably hard stone digging into his neck.

"Seems we could've been a little more covert," His betrothed remarked with a dry huff of laughter, shattering the shaky silence between them. Nick just barely cracked his gaze at the sound of her voice.

Judith's teal dress was stained with streaks of mud, and her steel cuirass had a dozen fresh slash-marks carved like tallies across it, but once his eyes reached the birch grey fur and cotton-white accents on her soft face every inch of his form was flooded with pure, unadulterated fury.

"What were you _thinking?_ " He hissed, infuriated. He was no longer willing to stop his pelt from standing on end, and his sudden outburst made his betrothed jump in surprise. "Had I not intervened in your _spying_ footsteps, you would be _buried_ right now!"

Judith could only speechlessly stare at him for a short moment, her amethysts gaping in confusion and alarm, before a frown just as dire as his dragged down her ears and turned her fur into a bristling display.

"If you hadn't _stalked_ me, I would never have run into those vagrants!" She shot back, raising onto her knees with flames engulfing her glare. "You wouldn't be hurt if you just _trusted_ me!"

" _Trusted_ you!?" Nick spat like a bitter taste, his tail shaking with rage at the words, and he leaned in towards her tensed expression with his claws digging into his thighs. "I _trusted_ you before, and you _betrayed_ it by leaping right into danger!"

"I thought my brothers were plotting to _kill_ you!" She defended vehemently, her paws clenching into fists while both her feet incessantly tapped against the stone parapet. " _You're_ the one who went on a tirade and led us the wrong way!"

"I was only trying to protect you!" Nick hissed, exposing his ice-white teeth to the moonlight.

"So was I!" Judith screamed back.

Irony pierced the both of them like bolts from a ballista, and they both went reeling back as though they'd been struck. Nick found his entire body stunned, his face unable to move or speak or do anything more than gaze, shocked, into his betrothed's equally taken aback amethysts.

What felt like a lifetime of gaping passed until he opened his jaw, unintentionally simultaneous with Judith, although no sounds came from either of them. Nick couldn't think of a single word that would make the situation any less ironic. They both merely sat there, their stare unbroken and unwavering, until a tiny smile cracked onto the Princess's muzzle and a lighthearted giggle filled the night.

Nick joined her with a chorus of genuine laughs that strained his joints, but he was so absorbed by the orange glow of the moment he hardly felt the stiff pain. His chest was so filled with humor and warmth despite the ever-rising breeze slicing through his armor and fur alike. Judging by the gleeful beam he was sharing with the mud-covered, grey-furred rabbit, their thoughts were one in the same.

 _God, I'm an idiot._

"Maybe…" Nick eventually started once their laughter had begun to die down, and he absentmindedly brought a paw to stroke the back of his head while a forced grimace pulled up his cheeks. "Maybe I've been a little tactless with the situation about this assassin."

"Yeah…" Judith agreed haphazardly, rubbing her shoulder and glancing off awkwardly while her pink button-nose incessantly twitched. "I think it to be in our best interests if I drop my suspicions about Gregory and Lucas. Even if – God forbid – they are plotting some ill deed, my father is more than capable of dealing with them."

"And Marshal Fenus is more than capable of ensuring our safety," Nick remarked with a tad of gratitude, yet his ears turn a shade of scarlet and fell as he thought on. _Not to mention the Emperor is in Wien, and two armies lie between us and him…_

"Let's…" Judith started, clearing her throat and gathering her thoughts before she shot to her feet with a resolved smile across her muzzle. "Let's move on from all this fretting. It's doing us no good so close to our wedding, and I'd rather have a fox who _isn't_ starved of sleep waiting at the altar."

"That makes two of us," Nick huffed dryly, his sly smirk returning, and Judith returned the touch of his tail against her calf by helping pull him up to his feet. Together they shared a long, private pawhold as their worn eyes danced over the glimmering torchlights of the Burrow below and the stars peeking through the clouds overhead.

"And to think in just over a week's time we'll be husband and wife," Nick smirked distantly, the idea sending shockwaves of amazement plowing through him, and when he glanced down into the wide, lively eyes of the doe at his side, he saw his own excitement reflected right back at him. "Think it'll be much different?"

"I suppose it _may_ be better," She pondered thoughtfully, putting a single finger against her chin and jutting out a hip, but a snarky flicker tinted her amethysts a shade darker. "With how you acted tonight, I'm having doubts you could handle a lifetime of me."

"Can't you recall how I so delicately dealt with that last thug?" Nick scoffed, puffing out his breast heroically and placing a dainty paw atop his steel-clad chest. "I'd finished hustling him before he'd even realized it!"

"Excuse you!" Judith protested, stomping her foot defiantly and tearing her paw away from his with both ears in a wild bristle. "I was the one who thought of using your _damned_ crown. You just stood there _gawking_."

"Fine," Nick stiffly conceded, his eyes rolling before they fell to his betrothed with an amorous smirk. " _We_ hustled him."

" _That_ I can live with," Judith thanked victoriously, and with a tiny frown furrowed into her brow the two of them set off for the nearest tower along the wall they could then use to scale down into the Palace's gardens unnoticed.

"We are in _desperate_ need to get the stench of blood off us, or we'll really have some long explanations for the Marshal," She went on, rather apprehensively, and Nick perked an ear when her eyes met his again. "I've a hot bath we can use in my suite."

"We?" Nick repeated warily, perking a suggestive eyebrow, and he stopped in his tracks with his maw sealed tight to watch his betrothed's reaction. To his surprise the Princess's cheeks didn't turn a tomato red at his quip. Instead, her composure stood strong alongside her rigid glare.

"We." She confirmed nonchalantly, cupping the side of his face and replying to the fall in his tail with a sly, confident smile. "It takes more than that suggestion of _marking_ to ruffle my fur, Nicholas. I would've thought you'd know-"

Nick cut her off by slowly running his claws up the length of her left ear. For a brief second, he had her shivering in carnal delight, but a flurry of furious punches sent him running off towards the distant, darkened shape of a tower.

"Dumb bunny!" He yelled over his shoulder, his thumping heart and carefree beam nearly lively enough to animate a funeral, and the instant before he turned his jocular emeralds away from her he caught Judith's fuming form sprint out after him.

" _Halfwit_ fox!"

* * *

 **[1]** Furgundian = pun on Burgundian. Not that inspired, lol.


End file.
